Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer

I am a stay-at-home mom to three wonderful boys! My two oldest just recently started back school so it is just me and my youngest son during the day. With extra time on my hands, and being a host to a local moms group, I wanted to blog about the products I rave about as well as some that I could do without. 

There are several moms out there just like me, or even working moms, who could use some insight before purchasing new products. This product review blog will do just that!

For my first blog, I would like to talk about my KitchenAid Artisan 4 1/2 quart Stand Mixer. Growing up I always loved my grandmother's KitchenAid Tilt-Head Stand Mixer and helping her bake with it! Because of her, I have a passion for baking, even though sometimes, the end result isn't always pretty! Being the mother of a family of 5, we are always on a strict budget and I was never able to purchase the mixer I wanted for full price. 

I was on www.quibids.com one evening trying to win a netbook. With my luck, I placed one bid and won the laptop. But to my surprise a few weeks later, they were out of stock so I had to choose a replacement item. Low and behold, I was able to choose my KitchenAid Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer!!! For the price of one bid ($0.60) and the total price before shipping, $5.16 on a brand new mixer of my dreams!

My mixer finally arrived right before Christmas 2011 and I started using it right away! The mixer came standard packaging with an Empire Red Tilt-Heat Stand Mixer, flat beater, stainless steel wire whisk, dough attachment, pouring shield , and the 4 1/2-quart stainless steel bowl. It is now August 2012, and I have used my mixer at least 100 times if not more! As I stated before, I love to bake! I make all of my children's and family birthday cakes, cookies, pies, mufffins, and so much more! There are other things to make with the mixer as well. I love using KitchenAid's recipe for mashed potatoes which can be found here: http://www.kitchenaid.com/assets/pdfs/literature/Instructions%20and%20Recipes%20-%209704323.pdf. Just scroll down until you find the recipe. They are super delicious!!!

I do not really have any complaints about my KitchenAid Artisan 4 1/2 quart stand mixer other than the fact that I wish the attachments all come in the same color. I would have loved to receive the burnished flat beater and burnished dough attachment to fit in with my stainless steel wire whisk. The stand mixers that KitchenAid has to offer also offer room for more recipes and ways to cook. You can make pasta, ground meat, and so much more!

 I rate this product a 9 out of 10 (mostly because I would like to see more stainless steel attachments come with the standard products). Sometimes, the attachments wear and the white coating disintegrates with common use.

Have you used a KitchenAid stand mixer before or are looking to purchase one in the future?

Here are some pictures of the desserts that I have made using my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer. Can you tell we have sweet tooths around here?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pops with Chocolate Icing

Elf Cupcakes

Tucker's 6th Birthday Cake. I added Hot Wheels to the top! I was also able to make his fondant icing with my mixer using the dough attachment.