(BPT) - There's no end to the number of kitchen gadgets you can buy, but in terms of versatility, the blender cannot be matched. If you only use your blender for making smoothies, you're missing out! The right blender can tackle a wide range of hot and cold recipes for any meal, snack or beverage.
KitchenAid, the maker of the iconic stand mixer, has recently launched the KitchenAid® Pure Power Blender. This handy kitchen appliance will help you turn everyday ingredients into delicious dishes to feed yourself or others. Thanks to its smooth variable speed control, asymmetric blade and three presets, what you can make is only limited by your imagination and your budget.
Not sure where to start? Check out these five recipes and see which is your favorite!
Making fresh salsa at home is simple with the right ingredients and tools. Take this smoky chipotle salsa recipe, for example. After roasting Roma tomatoes, onion, garlic and serrano peppers in the oven, you'll toss them straight from the pan to the blender to mix with smoky chipotle peppers and other tasty ingredients.
No need to wait for the oven-roasted veggies to cool down. Thanks to a fitted vented lid, the Pure Power Blender can take care of hot ingredients like freshly roasted tomatoes just as well as it can frozen food straight from the freezer. In no time at all, you'll have a perfectly textured salsa ready to scoop with your choice of chips or to spoon on top of tacos and other main dishes.
Have you ever made peanut butter at home? All you need is dry-roasted, salted peanuts, a neutral oil and a blender to make the magic happen.
An advantage to making your own peanut butter is that you control the texture. Whether your perfect spread is smooth and creamy or crunchy and chunky, you can make it happen with the right blender settings. Using the Pure Power Blender's precision speed control knob and asymmetric blade design, you'll be able to create the perfectly textured peanut butter that suits your taste and needs.
Pro tip: Add honey or maple syrup for a sweeter spread.
3. Roasted Corn, Potato and Zucchini Chowder
A hearty chowder is a delicious meal to share or eat on your own and save the leftovers. Using this recipe for roasted corn, potato and zucchini chowder, you'll have a fresh batch ready to serve in under 1 1/2 hours.
Much like the salsa recipe above, you'll roast the veggies in the oven before tossing them into the blender. However, you'll still be putting the blender to work while the veggies are roasting by making a smooth basil oil for drizzle.
Don't worry about cleaning up in between tasks. With the Pure Power Blender's Clean cycle, you'll have a clean blender jar ready in no time, so you can finish creating your veggie chowder.
Pro tip: For a smooth chowder, blend ingredients on speed 6 for one minute. If you prefer a chunkier chowder, blend on speed 2 for 5-10 seconds.
4. Citrus Cake
Can you make cake in a blender? You sure can! This recipe for citrus cake allows you to quickly mix all the necessary ingredients while you wait for dinner to finish cooking.
Using the precision speed control knob, you'll set the blender speed to 7 or 8 to finely chop unpeeled clementines and lemons that give the cake its flavor, as well as blend other essential ingredients like sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extract. When you're ready to add flours, baking powder and salt, simply glide the knob to speed 1 to incorporate these dry ingredients.
Once mixed, all you need to do is pour, bake, cool and top with simple sugar clementine glaze. Whether you serve this cake for brunch, tea time or dessert, your friends and family will be begging you for the recipe.
5. Acai & Berry Smoothie Bowls
No blender recipe list would be complete without a smoothie recipe! Gather frozen acai, blueberries, raspberries and bananas and get ready to mix it with delicious Greek yogurt, your choice of milk or milk alternative and your favorite toppings.
You won't have to worry about which blender setting to use for this recipe. Simply push the Pure Power Blender's Smoothie cycle button and watch your smoothie come to life.
Pro tip: You can use any berries you like, and don't forget that you can sneak in vegetables like riced cauliflower, baby spinach and carrots. Vanilla protein powder is also a sweet and nutritious addition to your smoothie bowls.
Are you ready to blend the rules? Try one or all five of these recipes and see for yourself how indispensable a blender can be. To learn more about the Pure Power Blender, visit KitchenAid.com.
