Hey, I KEEP forgetting to tell you about a guest post I wrote about a week ago over at Organizing Junkie! If you click here, you’ll be rewarded with a new High Five Recipe, as well as the opportunity to see my very scary unorganized closet. Focus on the recipe, people.
Have you told me how young you are yet? If not, go do that here! It’s been super fun to learn all of your ages this weekend!
Here’s our menu this week:
Sunday, February 21
Oatmeal, pears
Roast with gravy over mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots
Leftovers
Monday, February 22
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Creamy mac and cheese, peas
Chicken quesadillas, fruit-yogurt smoothies
Tuesday, February 23
Scrambled egg sandwiches, oranges
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, strawberry peach slushies
Lamb chops, rice and veggie stir fry
Wednesday, February 24
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, apple slices
Sloppy joes on whole wheat hamburger buns, steamed broccoli, clementines
Easy chicken alfredo, tossed salad
Thursday, February 25
French toast, canned peaches
Spicy avocado dip with chips, strawberry milkshake, carrot sticks
Beefy vegetable soup, cornbread muffins
Friday, February 26
Peanut butter honey toast, strawberry yogurt fruit dip with apple slices
Homemade pizza pockets, fresh pineapple
Teriyaki chicken wings, baked potatoes, green beans
Saturday, February 27
Funnel cake, bananas
Shepherds pie, fruit salad
Tacos
Snacks this week:
Hey, I have a question for you! Several have asked me which mixer I recommend..a Bosch or a Kitchen Aid? I don’t have a mixer so I’m throwing the question out at all of you!! What do you have and recommend…Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer? Other?
I have a pretty purple KitchenAid that was a gift from my husband. I adore that darn thing. It mixes. It chops. It grinds meat and makes sausage. It kneads dough while I’m busy doing something else. It’s amazing. I’ve never used a Bosch, but my KA is a rockstar.
I love the colorful Kitchen Aids, but I chose a Bosch and have never been disappointed!
I can mix up FIVE loaves of bread at once in it, and it’s wonderful for making cookies and meatballs, and don’t forget mashed potatoes, too!
The biggest selling points for me were:
#1 It is open topped. Too much finagling up and down to get the bowl out is not for me. The lid has two different pieces that go together, the top part can be removed for adding ingredients in.
#2 It’s reputation as a bread mixing machine among bread bakers all over the country and it’s ability to handle large loads (for large families!). Large bowl size.
#3 Seeing it in action at friends homes, even older models still going strong and dependable YEARS later.
Mine also has a blender on it and I have the grain grinding attachment, consolidating three machines into one. I know the KA also has many attachments, too. But I love my Bosch.
Kris in Oregon
I love my kitchen aid that was a gift from my grandmother. It is wonderful.
Love the KitchenAid.
I just got a Cuisinart. Too many different models of KitchenAids are available, plus the recent reviews on Amazon weren’t all favorable. The Cuisinart has a tilt feature, so you aren’t having to lift the bowl; and it has places to attach other devices like a meat grinder, small food processor, and blender. I’m quite happy with it.
Should I begin baking like a maniac, I would LOVE to have a Bosch, but given the limited baking I do, I couldn’t justify the cost.
I have owned a Kitchen Aid since 1992. When I started making w.wheat bread in it years later, I started to burn up the motor. My DH tinkered with it, and it works great again — but I quit trying to make massive amounts of bread in it.
Sooo, when DH talked my DD into buying a mixer a few years ago, I had already picked out the Electrolux DLX over the Bosch. It is more money, but we love it. And she paid for it within a year with selling bread occasionally. (DH says we’ll buy a new one for DD when she leaves home since it’s sort of mine now ;-))
Here’s a link… Pleasant Hill Grain sells both Bosch and the Electrolux. I also bought my NutriMill grain mill from them.
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/magic_mill_dlx_mixer.aspx
I’m considering a Bosch, that was my goal when I got our grain mill. I haven’t looked at the Kitchen Aid. I wonder if they knead bread as well as the Bosch? So, Laura, if you don’t have a mixer now, are you making all your wonderful recipes by hand?! When my kids were younger I made all our bread by hand and it was a good learning experience for them. Now I just want a quick way to make healthy bread/rolls/pizza crusts!!
Yeah, I just do mine by hand. I’ve always done it that way and don’t even think about it. That’s how I have such great big arm muscles. (That was a joke)
;)
I started out with a KA and loved it. Last year (with our tax money) I invested in a Bosch and I love it even more. I find it much better in the kneading bread area and find the blender the best I ever used. I will be getting the food processor attachment with this year’s tax money. I blessed a friend who didn’t have either with my KA, so we both won.
I grew up in a Kitchen Aid home (and my mom STILL uses the same mixer, decades later). I’ve had my own for about 3 years now and love it. I don’t know much about the Bosch, but I understand that there are lots of options for attachments. We don’t use a blender very much, and I already have a Cuisinart food processor (which I also love and use all the time)and I got a grain mill at Christmas– so the KA has been just perfect for us. It probably depends on what you already have and what uses you have in mind. Probably can’t go wrong either way.
Definitely love my Bosch! It gets used several times a week, takes anything I throw at it, and since I love to triple batches whenever I can (there’s 6 of us, we eat a lot!), I throw quite a bit at it. It easily handles 4 loaves of bread, and would handle more, but my oven can only handle 4!
My mom has a Bosch and she loves it. It mixes bread wonderfully and the blender on it can’t be beat.
I’ve had my Kitchen Aid for 10 years and it is still going strong. Hubby even used it Friday to make me a surprise cake!
My dear husband bought me a Kitchen Aid for a Christmas gift some 10 years ago and it’s still going strong. We want to get some attachments for it like the meat grinder, pasta maker, etc. I have heard that Bosch is better if you make bread often or do larger batches. I only do regular batches, so my KA is fine with me. Love it!
I have a pasta maker attachment – brand new in the box, only pulled
out to look at twice :-) if you want to make an offer!
kori dot ireland at gmail dot com
I love my KitchenAid! I still do some things without it, but for the most part, it saves me lots of time!
I have a Bosch, and in the interest of full disclosure, my husband works for Bosch. I have had KA before and really liked it, but replaced it with a Bosch because we could get a great discount. I love the Bosch, and picked one that has blender and food processor attachments. The motor on the Bosch is a little more powerful allowing for mixing stiffer batters without harming the motor.
My mom bought me a GE stand mixer a few Christmases ago and I don’t use it a ton but I do like it. Her selling point was that the top tilts up, which I do like. It doesn’t have all the crazy attachment options, but I guess I don’t know what I’m missing. :>)
My DDs are complaining about have PB&J ALLLLL the TIME!! So I may have to “borrow” your lunch menu for the week, it looks good! =)
My DH bought me a Bosch 2 1/2 years ago. I love it! It makes 4 large loaves of WW bread easy-peasy =) I like the blender too. From the research we read the Bosch works much better with WW flour than the Kitchen aid….
I love my Kitchen Aid, but it needs more power for kneading dough. . .I’d like to try a Bosch next, but saving my pennies.
Another Bosch mixer here. :) I wrote a review if it on my blog: http://onelittlewordsheknew.blogspot.com/2009/11/bosch-mixer-review.html
Definitely Bosch. Love mine. Kitchen Aids come in so many pretty colors and are great mixers. However, a Bosch is known for its ability to handle heavy wheat doughs. My friend had a Kitchen Aid and burnt out the motor using wheat flour. She now also has a Bosch.
I started out with a KitchenAid and it was fine for making cookies, mixing things etc… but when I started making bread, I decided to get a Bosch. I have not been disappointed at all. I love the fact that I can make so much dough in my Bosch. I also love the openness of it. It was very difficult to pour things into the KitchenAid. Mixing the flour in to the dough while making bread is so easy with my Bosch and I have learned just the right point to stop adding it. I also love that I can do many other things with the Bosch. I have a blender attachment that is THE BEST blender I have ever owned! I have also thought of buying some of the other attachments, but haven’t done it yet. I highly recommend the Bosch!
I didn’t take the time to read everyones comments, so i hope im not repeating anything here… I LOVE my KITCHENAID!!! it has so many uses! Not only does it free up time for me in the kitchen, it makes the most amazing breads, muffins, and anything else out there! It also has that handy little attachment hub, for which we got a grain mill, a meat grinder (for when hubby brings home a nice fat deer) and soon to come for me, a pasta roller! it is simply amazing. and it does knead the bread for you. so on those days when you simply dont ‘feel’ like making bread, but you know you need it, kitchenaid is there to be your best friend.
You mentioned that you have the grain mill attachment for the KA. Does it do a good job at making wwheat flour? Is it fine or coarse? I have a KA and have been considering buying the grain mill attachment, just want to make the most frugal and good stewardship decision. Thanks.
I really think it does a great job. There is a corse setting, and they suggest that you grind it on coarse first, then back again through fine. Sometimes i grind it twice, sometimes only once. I think it does a fantastic job and i’m glad i made the investment. To be quite personal with you, I didn’t want to pay for the attachment out of our budget money, so i sold a few items on ebay and then paid for my attachment on amazon, with $10 off from collecting swagbucks. It was really the best thing i could have done for our family’s kitchen. no pressur on anyone, that was just right for our family at that time.
Thanks so much Jen, for answering. And also thanks for the idea of selling on ebay to pay for the attachments. I am getting excited. Again, thanks.
Just my opinion on the grain mil attachment – I bought it for mine
since i had a KA and didn’t want to spend more money in a mill than I
needed to. It stripped the gears the first time I used it and had
to take my mill to be repaired ($30 plus 1hr gas both ways, two
times because I had to leave it a week to be fixed). I have been
more careful but now that mixer makes crazy noises, shakes badly
and is dying fast. I saved money and bought a bosch and a regular
grain mill. I wished that I had just saved the money from the
attachment mill and gotten a regular mill when I could. I also ended up
borrowing a friend’s regular mill until I could get mine. For bread
I couldn’t tell a difference, but for other things – like pancakes
and pumpkin bread, the ka grain mill attachment flour was too grainy
and the products looked really funny and tasted mealy. I LOVE my
new mil and don’t regret it one bit. Not sure what to do with my ka
attachment now. :-) So truly look at all of your options and how much
you want to use it before you decide.
This is something to consider. Thanks Kori. Probably would be better to just save for a separate grain mill. Tried making whole wheat bread from store bought flour today, and my KA was whinning quite a bit. Not a good sound to be hearing. So got to probably change my plans.
I always love your menus. Glad to be back on MPM after some time away from blogging.
I LOVE my bosch mixer, but I do not like the bosch blender. It has not worked well for smoothies, slushies, or anything using frozen food or ice. The food/ice just goes to the sides and can’t be touched by the blades of the blender. I love the mixer because I can make 5 loaves of bread at a time and I only have to let it rise once.
I got a Bosch about a year ago (ordered through Pleasant Hill Grain that was mentioned above, would recommend their site.) Never had a kitchenaid. We are enjoying the Bosch–mixes huge batches of dough or cookies, I also have the food chopper/slicer attachment and blender which we like, too. I like how the kitchenaid looks better, but we have not been disappointed with the performance of our Bosch. Making things homemade doesn’t seem as daunting for me when I can throw it in the mixer instead of mixing and kneading by hand. :)
I grew up with a Kithen Aid, because that is what my Mom had. I received a Kithen Aid as a wedding gift and now 11 years later, have not had a lick of trouble with it. I love it and use it A LOT!
My parents got us a Cuisinart for Christmas, and I absolutely love it so far! They were looking into a Kitchenaid but as my dad was doing research, the Cuisinart appeared to be better on all counts (power, features, warranty). I can’t really compare it to any others, as my mother never had one (still doesn’t) as I was growing up.
I have 4 very young children, so it is MUCH easier for me to get bread made when I don’t have all the kneading hanging over my head!
I love giveaways. I’ll have to stop by your post and leave a comment.
Your menu sounds delicious!
I have a DeLonghi. I love it. I did a lot of research on the kitchenaid, electrolux, bosch, and a few others. I have several friends with kitchenaids that make ww bread products, and they all were disappointed with the power of the machine. Also, those who have older models of the kitchenaid are lucky, as from what I understand, the newer models are cheaply made, and not intended for heavy duty use like with ww flour (unless you buy the commercial grade one). My DeLonghi came with a 10 year warranty and has almost 1000 w power motor. I couldn’t pass that up – even the Viking didn’t have a warranty like that. I have made so much ww bread and never even felt the motor get warm. Also, it doesn’t walk across the counter like some are prone to do. I would definitely buy it again. The kitchenaids are pretty, but it’s what’s inside that counts.
I’ve had my KitchenAid for 15 years and it’s going strong. The only thing I would change about it is its size–should have gotten the monster-large one!
I have had 4 kitchen aids and one Bosch. My first KA was an “ordinary” model. I could only make one loaf of whole wheat bread in it at a time so I upgraded to the KA 600 “professional.” In just over two years I went through three of these. The first died one year to the day after purchase. KA was wonderful about it and replaced it. The replacement came with it’s own one year warentee. The second one died 11 months after delivery. They were great again. The third one died the first time I used it (must have been a fluke, or God saying, “Laura, want you to have a Bosch!”). They were again, great. I asked for my money back and they bought the machine back from me. I took the money and bought a Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine with larger stainless steel bowl and cookie paddels.
I have not had to replace the Bosch machine in two years.
About the KA. All I did with it was make my familie’s bread which amounted to about 4 loaves per week, two at a time. I only use 100% whole wheat.
If someone is using the mixer to make cakes, brownies, cookies and occasional whole grain breads, the KA is fine. If you want to make whole grain breads on a regual basis, I would definately go with the Bosch.
After much research, I recently bought a Bosch. I love it! It can mix a triple batch of whole wheat bread with ease! I’m so happy I made the choice that I did. The Bosch is just a better machine, hands down.
I just bought a bosch and LOVE it. My mother only ever used a small hand mixer so that was all I knew. My husband got me the kitchen aid 9 years ago. It works great for cakes, small batches of cookies and even small batches of bread (mine could barely handle 2 small loaves). If I wasn’t doing ww bread and wanting to do more than 2 loaves at a time – then I would still be happy with the ka. But I saved my money and got a bosch and love it. Haven’t tried the mixer yet so can’t speak to that. I don’t like that I will need to buy separate paddles to do heavy cookies (which are the only kind I do). The whisk that comes with it would be crushed by a big batch of choc chip cookies. But the mixer its self is fabulous, and I hope to one day have some other attachments for it (like the food processor since I don’t have one currently!).
I use the regular hook it came with for cookies and it works well.
I love my Bosch. It depends on what you are doing with it. I have noticed that if I make 1 loaf of bread it has a hard time. It does awesome for larger batches. I have 6 boys so I tend to do large batches. We did not get a kitchen aid because of the reviews about the gears. The Bosch is easy to clean and easy to add ingredents.