Bosch Mixer/blender/ Breadmaker/shredder

I know I’ve already told you a lot about why I love my Bosch and how it makes my life easier, but what I wanted to tell you more about today is how nice it is to be able to make big batches of baked goods to take places or to freeze ahead of time, and save time in the kitchen.

(BUY THE BOSCH KITCHEN MIXER AND BREADMAKER)

Now, lest you think I’m a big hypocritical sweets junkie, I feel that I have to tell you WHY I’m making such big batches of baked goods at all, when we all know that too much of this stuff is a recipe for chronic illness. Maybe it will give you some ideas for ways you can make food ahead, too. (Note: I actually wrote this post a while ago, as you’ll be able to tell…)

I made 5 batches of brownies ALL AT ONCE in my Bosch:

One batch for grandparent’s day in my daughter’s first grade class.
One batch for the guys’ after-golf Octoberfest dinner next-door last weekend.
One batch for my day care kids’ treat, and enough so there was a fun smell/treat for my kids to walk into after school.
One batch for when we had friends over last Friday night.
One batch for a certain friend who knows who she is and would kill me if I said anymore.

The point, though, is that this didn’t take me anymore time than making ONE batch (except for the time it took to butter extra pans), because it was all in the same bowl! No extra clean up time, either!

Another thing I love is that after years of fighting with my little hand-held mixer (I always tried to make it do more than it could, and the dough would come up too high making a big mess, etc.), and standing over the bowl waiting for it to mix all the dough, now I just throw the ingredients in the Bosch and walk away. I can leave it to mix while I put the ingredients back where they go, load the dishwasher, answer homework questions, or whatever else I might need to do.

photo by compujeramey

Another day, I made 4 batches of cookies all at once:

One batch to take with us to a family get together. I froze this dough ahead of time in little balls, and then transferred to a big freezer baggie until I baked them the day we were going.
Another batch of cookies for the day it was our son’s turn to bring the after-game soccer treat. I couldn’t bring myself to buy the junk treats at the store. (Mine had no trans fats or HFCS, mostly whole wheat flour, real butter, etc.) I also made these ahead of time and froze them in individual freezer baggies. (In case you’re wondering, yes, it does actually drive me crazy that just because the kids play soccer for one hour they have to have a treat afterward. Why did this whole thing start, anyway? Back in the day, kids went home and got a snack after the game. When I mentioned at the beginning of the season that maybe we don’t need to do this, you should’ve seen the parent’s faces – you’d think I just admitted to child abuse! I was the ultimate party pooper soccer Mom!)
Another batch was for a family who just had a new baby, I took these cookies over along with a meal.
The rest I left as dough balls in the freezer to pull out when I need them for something.

Notice I make a LOT of stuff ahead and freeze (usually I freeze the dough to bake later), and now with my Bosch I can do that even easier. It’s just much better with my schedule to think ahead to what I’ll need and get it all done at once.

Now that it’s December I have another thing to add: it’s also great for when you’re invited to a cookie exchange and have to make many batches of cookies to share!

Do you have more ideas for making food ahead to save time in the kitchen? Tell us about it!

Here’s where you can buy the Bosch – they also have some great end-of-year deals here ($20 off + a free blender, or $90 off with the slider/shredder – I have both and love them, too)

Here’s the blender batter pancakes/waffles recipe I make with my Bosch blender – it calls for 100% whole grains (you can use some alternative grains in this recipe, too), and it actually tastes great, not heavy at all!

January 1st is coming…you may want to look over these posts about losing weight

More meal planning/kitchen tips

How do YOU fit exercise into your life? Comment at this post to let us know!

Many more topics along the right in the sidebar

Check out the new KITCHEN KOP REAL FOOD INGREDIENT GUIDE: only $5!

DON'T MISS NEW POSTS:

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via e-mail for free blog updates.

Learn more from the COMMENTS BELOW - join the conversation!

{ 8 comments }

I’ll be forever grateful to Shauna for telling me about my new very favorite kitchen gadget that I am madly in love with. I’m finding more new ways that I love it all the time:

THE BOSCH KITCHEN MIXER AND BREADMAKER (Buy it at this link)

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS I LOVE MY BEAUTIFUL BOSCH…

It has a 700-watt motor and a big bowl with well-designed dough hooks (& whisk beaters) that can make BIG batches. This is great for our family of six, and also for anyone who likes to make big batches all at once like I do.
I notice a big difference blending ice or frozen fruit for smoothies with this compared to other blenders I’ve had in the past. Even though the one I used to have was also a 700-watt motor, maybe it’s the other pieces and parts that are also stronger, but this one does it much easier and faster. No more pushing things down into the blade over and over and risking my spoon-ends or my fingers – it just whips things up into a great vortex! (Fun to watch, too – the kids love it.)
I LOVE THIS BREAD RECIPE – you should see how my bread comes out in this. Shauna told me that with the Bosch you could do SIX loaves at once, and that it’s BETTER than store bought bread (texture, taste, etc.), but I couldn’t believe it until I tried, and she’s right! It also keeps well, too. (Compared to other natural loaves that is, but not compared to the icky kinds that are full of preservatives, those things will last much longer than they should.) Even after being in the freezer, bread made in the Bosch comes out fresh tasting and still so soft. I’ve even adapted Shauna’s recipe and now I soak the flour overnight first to break down the phytic acid – this way it won’t prevent our bodies from utilizing all the nutrients we take in. Apparently the Bosch works the dough so efficiently that it then only requires ONE rise, but with other machines it takes 2 or 3 rises and it’s an all afternoon job. Read this blurb: “It folds the dough against itself, processing 100% of the dough every four rotations around the bowl. Other mixers merely stir the dough, never achieving the Bosch’s level of gluten development. Proper gluten development produces light bread with great texture. Merely stirring the dough produces brick bread. Bread from the powerful Bosch Mixer needs to rise only once before baking, letting you make six loaves of fabulous fresh bread and have them out of the oven in just 80 minutes.”
BLENDER PANCAKE/WAFFLE RECIPE: with the powerful blender, you can experiment with a variety of whole grains (not whole grain flour but whole grains). These are a hit with the family, honest, they love them! (We all love them just as much as my original pancake/waffle recipe, but I like the idea of using a bigger variety of alternative whole grains and not always using wheat flour, since the wheat crop has been so hybridized through the years. In other words, the wheat we eat today is very different from what our ancestors ate. Not to mention that this recipe is great, and WITH 100% WHOLE grains!)
EASY RAW APPLESAUCE RECIPE
Shredding cheese is so easy now!
It’s so easy to make a LOT of batches of cookies and brownies at once! I love how much time it saves me! (Read the best way to freeze cookie dough.)

WHERE TO GET THE BOSCH FOR THE BEST PRICE

You won’t find price differences on the Bosch, they’re all the same due to manufacturer requirements. The only differences between companies are that some offer free shipping, and some have better customer service than others. It’s a bummer how expensive this machine is, but with what we’re saving on buying our organic 100% whole wheat fermented bread, it won’t take long to get that money back. Do what my friend, Lyn, is doing…start an envelope for it, like Dave Ramsey suggests. (She’s got an envelope going for everything.)

Buy the BOSCH

That link has free shipping and there are also some GREAT fall deals going on right now, like a deal on the blender attachment (the blender is so powerful, I love that, too!) and special fall prices. They also carry accessories that you may want to add on later. I bought mine with the blender attachment, and also the slicer/shredder. It was between the slicer/shredder and the food processor, but the slicer/shredder had a much bigger bowl.

I’ll get all these recipes and more information out to you as I can, please think about subscribing (see below), so you don’t miss any new posts.

If you already have a Bosch, comment below and tell us what YOU love about it!

My other favorite kitchen gadgets (but they’re nothing like my beloved Bosch!)
Need some new main dish meal ideas?
Many more topics & recipes along the right in the sidebar