I was browsing on reddit the other day and read that I could use my KitchenAid mixer to shred chicken. I read that and thought, “There is no way that works.”
But I tried it: I threw the entire cooked chicken breast in the mixer, put on the paddle, and turned it on. A minute later I had shredded chicken! That got me wondering what else my KitchenAid mixer could do….
So I present: 13 Ways to Use Your KitchenAid Mixer (without buying extra attachments)
- Shred cooked meat. Use paddle attachment that comes with mixer, place cooked meat in bowl, turn on to Speed 2 for 30 seconds to a minute. It shreds quickly, so watch it! I almost cry when I think of all the time I spent shredding meat with two forks (and my fingers) while my KitchenAid was right next to me.
- Bread! No more kneading. Bread is so easy now. If you haven’t made homemade bread, don’t hesitate to try now. It’s not as hard as it sounds! Here’s my recipe of “Perfect Traditional Homemade White Bread.” (French bread and a great homemade wheat bread are coming soon.)
- Dough for anything. Dough for pitas/flatbreads. Pizza crust. Rolls. Calzones. Dumplings. A hand mixer would never be able to do some of the thicker, heavier doughs.
- Whipped cream. Use wire whip that comes with mixer, add cold cream. Whip on high speed. Tastes so much better than Cool-Whip.
- Frosting, including buttercream. Do not ever buy frosting at the store again. Trust me. Homemade frosting is actually amazingly easy when all you have to do is dump it in the stand mixer and let the mixer do the work.
- Mashed potatoes & filling for twice-baked potatoes. Mashed potatoes are SO fluffy, and it is quick. I also whip up the insides of potatoes when I’m making twice-baked potatoes.
- Make butter. All you need is cream and the wire whip that comes with the mixer. Yes, seriously. TheKitchn has an entire post dedicated to how to do it. Process: Put whole cream in bowl, whip on high. Whip until cream suddenly breaks into butter and a thin milky liquid. Discard liquid. Scoop out butter. Either squeeze between your hands or use cheesecloth: wash butter under running water until water runs clear. (If you don’t get rid of the excess milk, it will go rancid quickly).
- Make marshmallows. I haven’t this one because we don’t use marshmallows very often…but I hear they’re great. Link to FoodNetwork’s recipe for marshmallows.
- Make fondant. I’ve included two links, because I like the pictures on “A Crafty Cook” better, but the recipe on Duncan Hines is better.
- Make homemade pasta (yes, without the special pasta attachment). I normally hate eHow, but this article is good. To make the actual pasta, you just roll it out and cut it. I’ve never understood all the special pasta attachments. Ravioli is easy too. Cut into squares. Press two together (with a little filling in the middle). Viola!
- Make Playdough for the kids. Instructions linked.
- Meringue.
- Uh, the obvious. Cake. Cookies- try some thicker doughs to get great cookies! Brownies. Muffins. Pancakes.
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