Cooking Tutorials

Pear, Steak, Blue Cheese, Pecan Spinach Salad with Garlic Dressing Perfect Quick Prep Lunch or Dinner Salad

If you like entree salads like we do, especially in the summer with fresh ingredients, you’ll love this quick prep spinach salad.

You can mix and match ingredients for your favorite protein, preferred type of lettuce, pears or apples, and type of nuts and cheese. We like to make a homemade garlic dressing to match our preferred flavors rather than a store-bought one, but that’s your choice, too.

pear-steak-bluecheese-pecan-spinach-salad-with-garlic-dressingThis salad as-is makes a great addition to our weekend lunch or dinner, or weekday dinner options. But the easy ingredients leave you plenty of substitutions to your preferences.

We’ve scaled this recipe to make large bowls of salad for two for dinner. You can adjust if you want a side salad, lunch salad, or scale up for more servings.

Ingredients

  1. Fresh spinach lettuce greens — 4-6 handfuls as needed for 2 bowls of salad
  2. 8 ounces of steak — tenderloin, ribeye, flank steak, or top sirloin are our preferences
  3. 1 Pear cut into thin slices
  4. Small crumbles of blue cheese for good coverage in the bowl to taste
  5. Several handfuls of pecans, partially crunched into bite-sized pieces, although walnuts work well, too
  6. Garlic vinaigrette with preferred seasonings like extra minced garlic, pepper and salt to taste, and Dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Rinse spinach or your preferred lettuce, toss to dry, and set aside.
  2. Slice the steak of your preference into thin strips and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. We like to add Montreal Steak Seasoning but that’s optional, as are other meat seasonings you like.
  3. Sear the steak lightly and cook to your desired doneness. We cook ours to just past medium rare and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. If you are eating tonight, place the cooled steak in the refrigerator to cool to room temperature before serving. If you are prepping meat for 2 days of salads, place the one for the future night in the refrigerator right away to cool down. Serve cold the next day.
  4. Add the greens to the bowl. Layer in the pear slices, crumbled blue cheese to taste, and sprinkle in the pecans or walnuts.
  5. Lay the steak slices on top.
  6. Drizzle your garlic (or other dressing of your choice) evenly over the prepared salad.
  7. Garnish with a sprig of parsley

Optional Substitutions

  • You can substitute your protein for the steak — other steak, chicken, pork, or even fish or shrimp.
  • You can use your preferred choice of lettuce. I sometimes avoid spring greens because spinach and romaine, for example, can hold the layers of ingredients together in the bowl better.
  • If you can’t find good ripe pears, you can substitute apple chunks instead.
  • The blue cheese should be small crumbles, but if you don’t like or want blue cheese, you could substitute feta or similar cheeses. Even a thin shredded cheddar can work but I would definitely try to tailor the dressing to match the cheese you use.
  • Walnuts can be substituted for pecans. Other nuts aren’t a perfect match but pistachios and chopped cashews might work if you like those better. I find the cashews a bit salty and the pistachios a strong taste for this salad, though.
  • You can sub out basil, chives, cilantro, or oregano to taste.

Enjoy! With so many options, you can source for 2 days of salads, mix and match ingredients, or scale up for a dinner party. Cooking the protein for 2 days of servings makes it a fast prep overall. We sometimes even invite friends, provide substituted ingredients for the nuts, cheese, and lettuce, and allow everyone to create their own salad on the spot.

Cooking Articles, Cooking Tutorials

How To Read Food Label Nutrition Facts For Healthy Cooking Learn How To Tell What Is In the Food You Cook

how to read food label nutrition facts for healthy cooking

One of the most important things you can do for your own health is to know what you’re cooking and eating. In recent years, food labels have become much more user-friendly and you really can know exactly what you’re preparing. Knowing how to read nutrition facts on a food or drink label or on a recipe you find online is critical in today’s world.

With more recipes online that you want to try, understanding their nutritional value becomes an essential part of choosing and cooking a healthy recipe for yourself and your family.

Why Should You Care What’s In Your Food?

Your relationship with food is important to your health and well-being. What you eat can help to give you energy, improve your immune system, and allow you to combat many diseases. But it can also do the opposite — leave you feeling weak or fatigued and even cause disease. This is especially important if you or those you cook for have any underlying health conditions.

But if you’ve never given your food much thought, reading food labels can be intimidating. There’s a lot of information there. Deciding which information is important and which isn’t as relevant for the health needs of you and your family can be challenging. Once you know the basics, though, you’ll read those labels with confidence.

If you like entree salads like we do, especially in the summer with fresh ingredients, you’ll love this quick prep spinach salad.

You can mix and match ingredients for your favorite protein, preferred type of lettuce, pears or apples, and type of nuts and cheese. We like to make a homemade garlic dressing to match our preferred flavors rather than a store-bought one, but that’s your choice, too.

pear-steak-bluecheese-pecan-spinach-salad-with-garlic-dressingThis salad as-is makes a great addition to our weekend lunch or dinner, or weekday dinner options. But the easy ingredients leave you plenty of substitutions to your preferences.

We’ve scaled this recipe to make large bowls of salad for two for dinner. You can adjust if you want a side salad, lunch salad, or scale up for more servings.

Ingredients

  1. Fresh spinach lettuce greens — 4-6 handfuls as needed for 2 bowls of salad
  2. 8 ounces of steak — tenderloin, ribeye, flank steak, or top sirloin are our preferences
  3. 1 Pear cut into thin slices
  4. Small crumbles of blue cheese for good coverage in the bowl to taste
  5. Several handfuls of pecans, partially crunched into bite-sized pieces, although walnuts work well, too
  6. Garlic vinaigrette with preferred seasonings like extra minced garlic, pepper and salt to taste, and Dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Rinse spinach or your preferred lettuce, toss to dry, and set aside.
  2. Slice the steak of your preference into thin strips and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. We like to add Montreal Steak Seasoning but that’s optional, as are other meat seasonings you like.
  3. Sear the steak lightly and cook to your desired doneness. We cook ours to just past medium rare and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. If you are eating tonight, place the cooled steak in the refrigerator to cool to room temperature before serving. If you are prepping meat for 2 days of salads, place the one for the future night in the refrigerator right away to cool down. Serve cold the next day.
  4. Add the greens to the bowl. Layer in the pear slices, crumbled blue cheese to taste, and sprinkle in the pecans or walnuts.
  5. Lay the steak slices on top.
  6. Drizzle your garlic (or other dressing of your choice) evenly over the prepared salad.
  7. Garnish with a sprig of parsley

Optional Substitutions

  • You can substitute your protein for the steak — other steak, chicken, pork, or even fish or shrimp.
  • You can use your preferred choice of lettuce. I sometimes avoid spring greens because spinach and romaine, for example, can hold the layers of ingredients together in the bowl better.
  • If you can’t find good ripe pears, you can substitute apple chunks instead.
  • The blue cheese should be small crumbles, but if you don’t like or want blue cheese, you could substitute feta or similar cheeses. Even a thin shredded cheddar can work but I would definitely try to tailor the dressing to match the cheese you use.
  • Walnuts can be substituted for pecans. Other nuts aren’t a perfect match but pistachios and chopped cashews might work if you like those better. I find the cashews a bit salty and the pistachios a strong taste for this salad, though.
  • You can sub out basil, chives, cilantro, or oregano to taste.

Enjoy! With so many options, you can source for 2 days of salads, mix and match ingredients, or scale up for a dinner party. Cooking the protein for 2 days of servings makes it a fast prep overall. We sometimes even invite friends, provide substituted ingredients for the nuts, cheese, and lettuce, and allow everyone to create their own salad on the spot.

What Should You Look For?

There’s a lot of information on that label — everything from serving size and calories, to the Big 3 nutrients (fats, protein, and carbohydrates), to sodium, cholesterol, and specific ingredients.

Be Smart about Serving Size

how to read food label nutrition facts for healthy cooking servings and calorites

Begin with looking at the serving size on the label. Sometimes people miss this part of the label and then have an inaccurate idea of what’s actually in the food. For example, if you have a can of soup and the label says it’s 2 servings, that means that the information on the label would be doubled if you ate the whole can.

Labels have gotten smarter in the recent years. For example, a can of soda used to be 1.5 or 2 servings. But now when you look at the label, one can of soda is a whole serving because most people will drink the entire thing. Looking at a 20-ounce bottle, though, takes a little math to determine how many servings are in a full bottle because it is more than one.

Calorie Breakdown — Balance of the Big Three

Once you know the serving size for the items you’re preparing, you’re ready to move on to looking at the quality of the food you’re eating. The most obvious information you can get from your food label is about the breakdown of calories.

The label will tell you how many calories are in each serving. Calories are the measurement for how much energy it takes down to break down the food. The higher the calories, the longer it will take to break it down. This is a mixed magic because if there are more calories, it will sustain you for longer, but if they aren’t “good” calories then having more stick around can lead to converting it to fat in your body’s long-term storage.

Your metabolism is the measure of how much energy you burn over a period of time. While we often think of exercising as burning calories, the effect of exercise is small compared to the total calories you burn. You burn calories all day, and while you sleep, too.

When your heart beats, you breathe in and out, your body breaks down nutrients. It makes new blood cells and muscles and that burns calories. That’s why you need an average of around 2,000-2,500 calories in a day. It fuels your body to maintain energy throughout the day and night. It is an estimate with other factors like body type and metabolism, weight, and the amount of muscle your body has to burn calories.

There are three basic molecules that your food can give you: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Food labels tell you exactly how much of each you’re getting in a serving of food. The label also tells you how many grams of that food you need in a typical diet. For a healthy diet, you want a balance of these Big Three. Depending on your nutritional goals, the balance of fats, carbs, and proteins can be adjusted to maximize your calorie burn to fit your needs.

Depending on the label, the following are the major categories you’ll find:

  • Total calories per serving
  • Grams of carbohydrates
  • Grams of fat
  • Milligrams of sodium (important for a low-sodium diet)
  • Milligrams of cholesterol (important for a heart-healthy diet)
  • Grams of protein (critical to maintain muscle tone or build muscle)
  • Vitamins and minerals, if any

Within those major categories are some subdivisions to help you understand even more about the food you’re going to cook. Let’s take a look at those subdivisions and what they mean for you when it comes to your ingredients.

Not All Carbohydrates Are Created Equal

how to read food label nutrition facts for healthy cooking carbohydrates and proteins

When it comes to carbs, some are better for you than others. Let’s be clear — you need carbohydrates to have energy and to be healthy. Any diet that tells you to eliminate them completely is unhealthy.

A food label will break down carbohydrates into two categories — fiber and sugars. You’ll notice from this label that total carbs adds up to more than the sum of fiber and sugars. That’s because some carbs have neither but are still important carbs. You need fiber. However, many people don’t have enough fiber in their diets. You want to look for foods that are high in this nutrient.

Fiber helps you to lower your cholesterol and helps your digestive system to be more regular. You’ll find more fiber in foods that contain whole grains such as wheat and oats. Nuts are also high in fiber. This is the healthier type of carbohydrate. If you are cooking to avoid high blood sugar spikes, more fiber in your diet will also help regulate and smooth out the absorption of glucose (sugars).

The other category of sugars is what you need to watch if you’re concerned about diabetes for those you are cooking for. Depending on your situation with blood sugar, you’ll want to limit how many grams of sugar (especially added sugars) you get in your diet. Timing is also important for when you have those sugars. Carbs come in two types here, as well. Complex carbs don’t spike your blood sugar as much as simple sugars such as fruits, juice, soda, and foods with added sugars. Even most common peanut butters like Jif and Skippy have added simple sugars!

When it comes to calories, every gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories. So if you want to know how many calories in the food come from carbohydrates you can multiply your carbohydrate grams by four. Then you can look at the total calories in the serving to determine the percentage of calories that come from them.

The Purpose of Protein

Your body must have protein to build muscle and other cell building blocks. Most of the structures inside you consist of protein and in order to have the building blocks to repair cells and develop muscle tissue, you’ll need to eat food that has this important molecule.

A food label will tell you the number of grams of protein in your food. You’ll want to look for foods that are high in protein. Foods that have a lot of protein include nuts, meats, whole grain foods, fish, and dairy products. Nuts usually combine higher fiber with protein, and that combination is especially good for regulating blood sugar spikes. Proteins are also 4 calories in a gram.

The Critical Facts About Fats

how to read food label nutrition facts for healthy cooking fats

Food labels will also give you information about fats. In the past, health practitioners told patients to avoid fat altogether. But it turns out that modern science doesn’t support that type of diet. You actually need fats just like you need other molecules in your food.

The two major categories of fats are unsaturated and saturated. Unsaturated fats come from plant sources. At room temperature unsaturated fats stay liquid. These are considered healthy fats. You need them to help keep your skin and other organs healthy. Omega-3 Fatty Acids found in fish like salmon are also good for your health. So planning to slot some fish and salmon into your cooking is a great idea.

Unsaturated fats also help lower “bad” cholesterol and raise “good” cholesterol in your blood. This helps to protect your heart and prevent problems such as heart disease and stroke. They also help your digestive system to run smoothly.

Saturated fats come from animal fats. These are solid at room temperature and are considered unhealthy fats. They contribute to high cholesterol and clogged arteries and can ultimately lead to heart disease, stroke, and other disorders. You can’t get away from them completely, but your doctor may advise you to limit the percentage of saturated fats you prepare in meals.

Trans fats are a category of fats that come from altering the chemical structure of an unsaturated fat. They are also called hydrogenated fats because the process of taking a liquid unsaturated fat to a solid trans fat involves adding hydrogen atoms to the molecules. I know that’s a bit of scientific trivia you probably don’t care about, but it leads to a more important issue.

For many years, it was thought that trans fats were as healthy as unsaturated fats, but that has been disproved. In fact, trans fats are actually more harmful than saturated fats. Because of the bad press trans fats many food manufacturers are removing it from their products.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires that trans fats be listed on food labels. It’s a good idea to avoid any food that has significant trans fats in it. These fats have no nutritional value and are in fact harmful for you.

What About Cholesterol?

Speaking of cholesterol, you can also find the amount of cholesterol in a serving of food on the label. Cholesterol amounts become important when you’re trying to eat a heart healthy diet. If you’re trying to lower cholesterol, you’ll want to pay attention to this part of the label. Foods with cholesterol that also contain fiber are going to be a safer choice than fatty meats. Fish with Omega-3s is an exception to the “meats” when you’re cooking.

Sodium Safety

Another nutrient that food labels provide information about is sodium. Sodium is the fancy, scientific term for salt. If you have normal blood pressure you probably don’t pay too much attention to salt. But if you’re suffering from high blood pressure, you don’t want to ignore it. A little salt added in cooking is one thing, but splattering added salt on top of your meal makes it hard to judge just how much you’re adding to your cooking.

Sodium causes your body to hold onto water and in some people actually causes swelling in hands, feet, and legs. The sodium in turn raises your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. So if you have this issue, you need to check the labels. Speak with your doctor about what a healthy amount of sodium is for you and your family.

Then you’ll want to look for labels that have low amounts of sodium or are even free from it. Some foods are labeled as “low sodium” or “sodium free.” Unfortunately, the words on the label outside the statistics can be misleading and are not usually regulated. So you still need to look at the label and see where it fits in with your needs.

Eating Vitamins and Minerals — What About These Food Elements?

While most people could use a multivitamin each day, the best way to get your vitamins and minerals is through the food you eat. In food, you find these vitamins and minerals in a natural state that’s easy for your body to absorb.

Taking over-the-counter multi-vitamins has been proven to be poorly absorbed in many cases, which is probably why the manufacturers load them up with many times the daily recommended amounts. It seems silly to me to take 500-1,000% of the daily requirement to hopefully get 100% absorbed. Your body knows how to handle them coming from food. Just let it do its job.

Food labels will give you an idea of what nutrients can be found in a specific food. Look for foods that are high in vitamins and minerals such as Calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B nutrients, Vitamin A, Potassium, and Beta-carotene. Even some Vitamin D is a good addition to what you get in dairy products.

Making Time for Reading Food Labels

When you’re new at reading food labels, it can see overwhelming. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. You’ll also have your “go-to” foods that you can just pick up without revisiting the label every time.

Plan to spend some extra time at the grocery store shopping for your family and friends when you’re paying more attention to food labels. Pay attention to what nutrients you’re looking to limit and what you need to add to your diet. Before you shop, make a list of what you need to get.

Then, as you’re shopping make a list of additional foods that you’d like to incorporate into your diet. You may also want to make a list of foods you’d like to avoid. Perhaps something you’ve always loved has way more cholesterol than you can afford. Spend some time looking for a substitute that’s on the healthier side.

Sometimes the Raw Numbers Don’t Say It All — Read the Ingredients

how to read food label nutrition facts for healthy cooking ingredients

The other list you’ll find on a nutrition label — or near it — is a list of ingredients. Ingredients on products are listed in order from greatest amount to least amount in the food. This list of ingredients can be very helpful for determining if a food is something you want to eat or not. Sometimes you’ll be surprised about what is in there.

My husband loves Pepperidge Farm cookies. A few years ago he bought some and gave me one to try. I took a nibble and put it down.

“It has coconut,” I said.

“No, it doesn’t,” he insisted, “Read the label — no mention of coconut.”

I turned the box over and pointed to the last item on the ingredient list. It was coconut, which I hate and can easily taste. We had a good laugh.

Some ingredients you might want to avoid include:

  • Corn syrup (highly processed sugar, often called High Fructose Corn Syrup)
  • Hydrogenated oils — the dreaded trans-fats
  • Monosodium glutamate (MSG) — the book is still out on this one, but many people going with an extremely healthy diet recommend avoiding it
  • Artificial coloring — this isn’t proven to be harmful but if you’re leaning towards “super healthy” then you can use this as a marker for examining other nutrients
  • Artificial sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, saccharin) — recent research has found that these are not as harmful as expected, even for those with diabetes. Personally, we go with sucralose or Splenda because it is a slight genetic cousin to regular sugar.

Ingredients that are not natural and come from chemical processing are generally not as good for your body. A handy rule of thumb to follow is that if you can’t pronounce the ingredient (foreign foods don’t count), you probably shouldn’t eat it.

Once you start reading food labels, you’ll be surprised to find out how many additives are in processed foods. While some foods with labels are healthy for you, there are a lot of foods that come in cans, boxes, and bags that contain harmful ingredients.

Foods Without Labels

When it comes to nutrition, the best thing you can do is look for foods that don’t require labels. These are foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. The less processed your food is, the healthier it will be.

Other foods have labels, but are also close to their natural state. This includes foods such as:

  • Milk
  • Yogurt
  • 100% Whole grain bread
  • 100% Whole grain cereals
  • Natural peanut butter without added sugars
  • Natural cheese

When you’re shopping, reading food label nutrition can help you to make good choices for healthy foods to cook. Look for foods that are high in nutrition and low on saturated fats, artificial chemicals, cholesterol, and processed sugars. This will help you to prevent disease, have more energy, and even help you to shrink your waistline.

Cooking Articles, Cooking Tips

How To Brine a Turkey Safely Best Way To Prevent Bacteria and Cross-Contamination Using This Recipe

how to brine a turkey safely

Giving a bath in salt water isn’t complicated but we recommend you follow this process for safety and best flavor.

Why Should You Brine a Turkey?

Because turkey is lean, cooking the dark meat to temperature often results in dry white meat. Nobody likes that. Brining can help. Basically, brining is soaking your turkey in a saline solution before cooking. This helps it take in extra moisture that can counteract the drying out problem.

A brined turkey needs to be rinsed afterward to remove the salty solution, so it’s a slightly safer means of “washing” your raw turkey. See the dangers of washing a raw turkey in our article here.

The key to success is planning ahead. Brining is a time-consuming process and since it needs to be done an hour before you start roasting, planning your time and process is essential.

Brining takes from 8 to 18 hours but it also takes time to create the brine to use. At its most basic, brine is dissolved salt and water — a lot of water.

You want the salt to completely dissolve in the brine. The best way to make it dissolve is to heat the water and simmer until the salt is completely absorbed. Then it is critical to cool the brine to room temperature. Pouring hot or warm brine over a raw turkey is dangerous because it can cause bacteria growth.

Be sure to set a timer to take the turkey out of the brine. Otherwise ,your turkey will taste overly salty and become spongy.

If you’re not ready to cook the turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it (carefully to avoid spreading bacteria), pat it dry, and refrigerate. See the dangers of washing a raw turkey in our article here to familiarize yourself with safety tips. Try to avoid leaving it for more than two days.

Enhancing The Brine To Improve Flavor

You can also add to the brine to improve flavor. Aromatics can improve flavor and add an additional dimension to the seasoning of the bird.

Vegetables like carrots and celery, your favorite herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme, fresh garlic, and even citrus fruits like lemon and orange are popular. And you can experiment with another turkey in advance, or keep notes for next year’s process.

Sample Recipe For a Great Brine

  • 7 quarts of water (28 cups) — may need more for large bird
  • 1-1/2 cups of coarse salt — don’t waste good salt
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons coriander seed
  • 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries
  • 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
  • 1 18-to-20 pound turkey patted dry
  • 1 bottle dry Riesling (a second bottle for sipping, LOL)
  • 2 medium onions thinly sliced — I recommend yellow or white
  • 1 bunch fresh thyme

Reserve the neck and giblets for stock and keep the liver for your stuffing.

You’ll need a 5-gallon tub or stockpot or bucket to brine in. Include a large brining or oven roasting bag for easier cleanup. You’re going to want to refrigerate the turkey during brining and if you don’t have fridge space, use a big cooler that can hold the bird and enough ice to keep the temperature at 40 degrees.

Instructions

  1. Create brine the day before roasting the turkey so there is time to create the brine and brine the bird. Bring quart of water, salt, and other spices to a simmer and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Then you want to cool the mixture for 5 minutes.
  2. Add your salt mixture, the rest of the water, and other ingredients.
  3. If it isn’t submerged, it is best to weight it down with a large plate.
  4. Refrigerate your turkey for 24 hours, flipping the turkey once half way through. If you’re using a cooler, be sure to keep the surrounding ice at a constant 40 degree and replenish enough times to keep it there.
  5. Remove it from brine an hour before roasting.
  6. Pat it dry — both inside and out — and rinse carefully.
  7. See our article about dangers of washing a raw turkey for important tips.

Enjoy!

Buyer's Guides

Stand Mixer Buyer’s Guide Tips For Deciding Which Stand Mixer Is Right For You

stand mixer buyers guide hwo to choose a mixer

Mixers can help turn the task of cooking into a joy. These helpful kitchen tools range from stick to hand to stand mixers – and they’re guaranteed to make food preparation faster and more convenient.

When Should You Choose a Stand Mixer Over Smaller Stick or Hand Mixers?

All 3 types of tools are guaranteed to make food preparation faster and more convenient. But both stick and hand mixers are limited in their range of functions. A stand mixer has a greater capacity for multi-tasking.

Plus, if you use a hand mixer or stick mixer, you have to hold the bowl with one hand while operating the mixer with the other. A stand mixer sets you free from having to do that.

They’re great appliances — and once you get the right one, you’ll love what it can do for you in the kitchen. But, when you’re planning to purchase one, you don’t want to just pick whichever one happens to be the most recent one on the market because that one may not be the best one for you. Features vary widely and the newest and greatest may have features you don’t care about or be missing ones that you do.

Stand Mixers Comparison

Mixer Name

Model

Power

Best For

Capacity

Speeds

Weight

Reviews

Star Rating

Bosch Compact Mixer ReviewMUM4405400 WConsumer Mid Range4 Quarts48 Lbs5114.4 Stars
Bosch Universal Plus Mixer ReviewMUM6N10UC800 WConsumer High End6.5 Quarts412 Lbs7614.7 Stars
KitchenAid Pro 600 Mixer ReviewKP26M1XER575 WConsumer Mid Range6 Quarts1029 Lbs7,7484.7 Stars
Comparison of a variety of home use stand mixers.

First Thing To Pay Attention To When Choosing a Mixer

Instead, the first thing you want to consider is how many times each week you’re going to be using the mixer and what attachments you’ll need. A mixer has a number of parts that will need to be cleaned after every use, and while they may be dishwasher-safe, you can’t run your dishwasher 7 times a week because you used your mixer every day. Some attachments can be easily washed by hand, and usually the bowl can be as well, but you need to consider how many times a week you’ll use different features.

How Complicated Will Your Tasks Be With Your Mixer?

You also want to consider how complicated the recipes or tasks will be so that you’ll know what sort of food preparation your mixer will be handling. If your recipes or tasks will require multiple attachments, or a lot of in-and-out-of-the-bowl activity, you need to consider the specific attachments you need and bowl size is a biggie, too.

If you’re looking at doing simple, fast dishes without a lot of mixing (and you’re only going to use a mixer sporadically), then you can probably be happy with a simple model — one without a lot of bells and whistles.

But if the mixer is going to be an important part of your cooking production or it’s going to be used often, then you’re going to want to choose a mixer with plenty of features.

Basic Stand Mixers Can’t Handle The Load

Basic stand mixers can’t handle the same workload because the internal parts are different. Some of the gears and motors within some brands and models are meant to handle the more frequent uses and the heavier loads. Some mixers have a tendency to burn out the motors or strip gears under a heavier load like bread dough batches, so be sure to read the reviews carefully to find out if it is a weakness in the mixer you are considering as a purchase. Some mixers have overheating controls and can shut the mixer down if it is overheating. Usually this is a good feature.

However, I have seen one instance of automatic overheating controls that can be a negative issue. One of the mixers we have reviewed is a compact model with a smaller bowl. While the 1200W motor seems like a good feature, it turns out that it can’t always handle the load. When the small bowl is full of stiff mixtures like dough, the motor seems to be able to handle it, but what really happens is that the motor housing is small and overheats with the heavier load. It doesn’t hurt the motor because it shuts down automatically. But because it keeps overheating with the heavy load, it is basically a non-starter. If you are buying a small bowl and compact mixer but with a heavy motor, read the reviews to see if the overheating feature “gets in the way.”

What Do You Need to Watch For To Prevent Burning Out?

For starters, a stand mixer with fewer speeds and lower wattage often comes with lesser performance in handling heavy loads. Buying a less expensive stand mixer to save money won’t make you happy if it tears itself apart within a year.

Or, as I mentioned above, if the mixer has automatic overheating shutoff, you won’t want that feature if the mixer is underpowered and tends to shut off a lot.

If you buy a cheap stand mixer with few features and expect to use it constantly, it is likely to break down on you before a year of regular use is up. So take the time to consider how well your potential mixer can stand up to the tasks you hope to handle.

Ability to Handle Heavy Duty Tasks

If you’ve ever made homemade dough, then you understand what a demanding physical chore it can be. Not only is there a lot of work involved if you use the old fashioned method of kneading it on a counter, but the clean up after you’re done with the preparation isn’t all that fun, either.

For those who have the right kind of stand mixer, making dough changes bread-making from a chore to something that’s done in a few, quick minutes.

When making bread or pizza, you know that working with thick dough is strenuous and can take a lot of energy and strength. But stand mixers now can work the dough — and even if it’s thick, that doesn’t matter. However, you can’t just choose any stand mixer if you’re planning to use it to make dough. One with a lightweight motor won’t be able to handle the strain and you’ll burn the motor out.

When you’re making batter, whether it’s for cookies or some other recipe, the strength of the stand mixer matters here, too. Buying a stand mixer that has a lower wattage is okay if you’re only going to use it for lighter dough or cake batter or if you’re not going to use the mixer that much when making heavy duty recipes.

But, when you make family size amounts of dough or you make dough on a regular basis, then you must have the correct amount of wattage for your stand mixer. How much wattage your mixer has just means that’s how strong it is in the motor — and it’s also an indicator of what it can handle.

The models with the lower wattage will have lower power motors and lower price tags, whereas the higher wattage models will cost more. But what you have to consider is if you buy a lower wattage motor that has trouble working thick dough or batters, then you’re putting a lot of strain on the motor.

Eventually, this strain will cause it to tear up — because it wasn’t meant to handle the thicker mixture. One clue that your mixer is having a problem with the dough is if it starts to act like it’s struggling to work the dough. Think of a person trying to twist a lid from a tightly closed jar. Red-faced, grimacing and groaning. That’s what an under-powered stand mixer sounds and looks like. Oh, and unless it has suction cups on the bottom to prevent “jumping around the counter” you’ll have that issue as well. Can you imagine a 29-pound stand mixer “jumping!”

Many KitchenAids have a problem with gears tearing up, even with the 600 Watt “Professional” models. Maybe because that model has 10 speeds and tries to force the rotation so much that it puts a big strain on the motor. I’m not sure. I don’t do heavy, large batches of dough or cookie batter, so my KitchenAid doesn’t dance all over the counter as much as some people’s stand mixers and I haven’t burned out the gears on mine. The dancing part is funny, though, at least until you try to hold it down! However, many others report a problem burning out the motors in their reviews. For the expense of this stand mixer brand, you’d expect better.

But What Wattage Is Enough Wattage?

Take a page from the professional’s book. What do they buy? Some are satisfied with 600-650W but often you are looking for 800-1000W motors. More importantly, you want to consider what the gears and motor are made of. Metal gears are more durable and less susceptible to burning out than nylon gears.

What you really have to pay attention to is the wattage and what you are putting that motor to use doing. Heavy duty attachments like the dough hook, meat grinder, and pasta maker take a heavier toll on the motor. So when figuring out what wattage to look for, think about your attachments. Bowl size, speeds, and smaller items like that aren’t the key to figuring wattage.

If the motor has more oomph, like the 800W Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine, it can more easily drive its attachments and won’t put as much of a load on the motor fighting through a heavy batch of whatever.

If you’re comparing a stand mixer you already have to a decision to replace it, make sure it’s moving as fast as it normally should be. If you notice that it’s not, it means your motor isn’t strong enough to handle the thickness of that recipe. The rule of thumb to remember when purchasing a stand mixer is to always evaluate your purpose for the mixer and buy wattage accordingly.

There are also other features you’ll want to look at when you’re looking for a stand mixer and one of those features is how loud or quiet the machine is.

Sound

Every appliance is going to make some noise — and a stand mixer is no exception. However, there’s loud and then there’s too loud. The sounds a stand mixer makes come from the mixing action, but it also comes from the motor. To some degree, sound is part of the aesthetic appeal of your mixer.

The internal workings of the mixer will determine how much noise it makes. If you buy a stand mixer that has metal gears, then those will make more noise, but metal gears are the toughest and can stand up to more frequent as well as heavy use.

Some of the mixers have nylon gears — and these are quieter than metal ones, but they can’t always handle the strain of thick or stiff dough. Once the gears inside a stand mixer become damaged, then of course you either have to replace the parts or the appliance — this is why it’s so important that you buy a mixer that can handle tough recipes if that’s what you plan to use it for.

You’ll be able to tell if your gears are having trouble because you’ll start to hear them grind, buzz, or just outright complain. If the motor starts to lag or stagger, you can tell that it’s trying extra hard — and that’s not a good sign. A stand mixer will also make noise if it ‘walks’ along the counter as it’s in use — unless you buy a mixer that has suction feet grips on the bottom. And by the way, I highly recommend suction grips on the bottom. Nobody likes chasing a heavy stand mixer around the counter.

Are The Attachment Choices You Want Available?

The standard attachments that come along and extra goodies that you can buy for your stand mixer are varied and can help you perform a multitude of tasks. Every stand mixer comes with some features that will make it a favorite appliance. Again, it just depends on your tasks.

You’ll generally get a splatter shield, which is handy to use when you want to put more ingredients into the mix when you’re already running the mixer. It keeps the food in the mixer bowl and keeps the ingredients from splashing back. A pouring spout is great, too.

Of course, the attachments that come with your stand mixer or are sold separately can help you get so much more out of the kitchen appliance. Most of them come standard with flat beaters, which are great for use in making mixed meat dishes, or wire whips — and most come with a hook for dough so that you don’t have to knead by hand anymore. Sometimes you can get cookie paddles, which is a great addition for bakers.

You can look for a mixer that specifically uses planetary mixing. This is a programmed pattern that creates a revolving motion of the beaters to reach a full range around the bowl and create a smoother mixture.

It’s the extras that can give you a lot of value for your money. You can get a bowl scraper tool that will swipe the sides and bottoms of the bowl so that you don’t even have to scrape it to get every drop of ingredients out. Depending on the brand, sometimes the bowls used on different size mixers (e.g. 5 quart, 6 quart, or 7 quart) can be swapped out. This is a huge deal for people who use the mixer for a lot of tasks because you can have extra bowls on hand and do your clean-up later instead of stopping after every job.

If you buy the right type of stand mixer with power outlets for other attachments, you’ll be able to enjoy multiple uses. For example, one stand mixer allows an attachment that can also be used to make pasta.

You can also use another attachment to grind meat. There’s also an attachment that can be used as a juicer and one that can be used as a food processor. So you can imagine just how handy it would be to have a mixer that could do all of that.

Besides the attachments that you can get to enhance the mixer, you can also buy an attachment pack that will have various grinders, shredders, strainers and more included in it.

As you can guess, in many ways it’s the attachments that make a stand mixer the beloved resident in your kitchen.

Ease of Cleaning Will Save Your Sanity

Of course you don’t want to get an appliance you have to arm wrestle just to assemble or disassemble. And you also don’t want to get a mixer that’s going to have you cleaning the machine for hours. What use is convenience if it’s a hassle in the long run?

Even if you use a cover on your mixer on the counter, dust will still creep in. And it can build up and add to minute particles of grime that get into innards. This means that regular maintenance is a must to protect the motor and drive shaft for attachments.

Fortunately, there are plenty of stand mixers that are super easy to clean. You can just place the bowl and mixing pieces right in the top rack of the dishwasher and get them clean. Sometimes, with a bigger bowl, I’ll put it in the sink, run hot soapy water in it, add the attachments, and soak it all. That works well if it isn’t too messy or greasy and doesn’t fill up the top rack in the dishwasher. The main unit itself is easy just to wipe down.

Older mixers often had limited clearance between the bowl, the attachments, and the bottom of the head. Newer mixers — both tilt-head and bowl-lift — improve the cleaning process. The tilt-head will lift away from the bowl and expose the underside of the mixer for cleaning. The bowl-lift models drop the bowl down away from the lower part of the head to also make it easier to reach and clean. It’s really a matter of choice.

To disassemble a stand mixer, you want one that’s a 1-2-3 step process so that you can get inside the head of the machine to clean it and keep it working well. I always wipe off the bottom-side surface where the attachments go in before removing the attachments. Otherwise, when you wipe it down, you can push debris and grease into the holes that the attachments use. Look for the models that have an easy quick release latch that lets you take off the head of the appliance once you reach that stage of cleaning.

To change out various attachments, you can lift the head of the mixer and push the new piece into place. Most stand mixers are easy to assemble when you want to use it and the pieces simply lock into place. I’m big on modular methods, so I have a storage area for my attachments that doesn’t clog up the counter with the main mixer. I just pull out the storage bin, grab what I need, and put it away again. Some mixers with more attachments come with a storing space but many don’t.

Durability

There’s an old saying that goes, “Things just aren’t made the way they used to be,” and while that’s true, a sturdy good appliance will last for many years. In fact, you’ll find the guaranteed warranty ranging from 3 to 25 years and possibly a lifetime if you take care of it. Longer warranties usually mean that they don’t expect it to break down and require repair, so that’s one way to evaluate how well it is made.

The stand mixers made for today are meant to last. You should look for long-lasting metal parts made of steel and chrome to give you the best that money can buy in a kitchen countertop appliance. Bowls are easy to replace so plastic or glass there is fine.

Many stand mixers come with long-term warranties guaranteeing the product’s internal pieces, including the motor. It’s something to pay attention to. Depending on what you use the machine for, a mixer can overheat — but with the safety features built into most of these appliances today, the machine is programmed to shut down automatically if it overheats in order to protect the motor from burning out. Other models have electronic speed and gear management to prevent a strain on the motor.

You can also look for a model that uses electronics for load-sensing. The mixer will adjust the motor to handle different loads without you taking a hawk-eye view of your batch.

If once it cools down, it works as normal, this means the job you had it do was too much work for it. This is why it’s important to consider power when you’re in the market for a good stand mixer.

If you notice a problem while you’re mixing up something, immediately lower the operating speed. Sometimes, the machine overheats if you’re using it too fast or if you’ve been using it for hours at a time to do a marathon baking session.

The motor has oil lubricant and there’s grease inside the machine designed for it to give you many years of usage and keep the motor humming, but you need to keep up with maintenance on the machine by either doing it yourself or having it checked whenever you notice an issue. Be sure to read the manual that comes with your stand mixer. You don’t want to neglect care and handling and abuse it.

Yes, Size Matters … But Why?

Because it sits on the countertop, you want a stand mixer that has a lot of power, but not necessarily a lot of dimension. Remember that you want to get a mixer sized right so that when you tilt the head back or use the bowl-lift feature, you still have plenty of room if you have low hanging cabinets.

But, really, when we’re talking about size, we’re not just talking footprint. We’re also walking about weight.

Compact stand mixers are usually around 10 to 12 pounds, and the larger ones can start around 15 pounds and range up to easily above 30 pounds. Think of lifting anywhere from one to 3+ gallons of milk. In one armful!

With the dimensions and weight, you don’t want to be wrestling an appliance in a tight space or moving it around the room. A bulky and overly large mixer might be too much for you to handle if you don’t plan to house it on your kitchen counter. Or need to move it around on the counter.

I’ve found that if you want a countertop appliance, get a rolling cart for it to live on. That way you can move it around anywhere you want with ease.

If you store it elsewhere, then you don’t want one that weighs a lot, making it hard to move. Imagine picking up a toddler and holding them tightly so you don’t’ drop them. And no hands around your neck. Just you and dead weight. Of course, a child dropping 3-4 feet to the ground is likely to be okay. A $400+ stand mixer will probably not survive intact.

But on the other hand, if you plan to keep it on the counter, you don’t want to get one that’s too lightweight unless it has feet grips.

Most stand mixers are streamlined enough so that they don’t take up much countertop space if you want to leave them sitting out. Unless you have a small kitchen or one with little open counter space. If space is an issue, such as in a small studio apartment or sub-thousand-square-feet condo, you can look into purchasing a compact stand mixer, which has a lot of the same features as a regular model. In that case, you need to add dimensions and weight into your primary considerations. There are plenty of compact models out there, but you aren’t likely to get the higher wattage motors or bigger bowls with these.

Do You Care About Color?

Maybe you think I’m crazy to ask, but some buyers really care about the aesthetic appeal of that mixer on their countertop. Especially if it lives on the counter all of the time. The combination of color matching your décor, a streamlined design, and the material (plastic, stainless steel, or chrome) really do matter to some of us.

Consider Price and Value As Well As Add-On Costs

When buying a mixer, you’re going to want to consider the value of what you’re getting versus the price that you’re paying out. You’ll notice that there’s a huge range in price when it comes to these mixers.

Some of the starting prices are at less than $90 but range all the way up to almost $800. That’s a large difference — so how can you tell which one is the best? Frankly, there is no best. You have to look at what you plan to use it for.

If you only plan to use a mixer occasionally and never for heavy dough, then you can opt for one that’s lower in cost, has fewer features and usually has a power around a 450 wattage. The bowls for these will be smaller too, so take that into account.

If that’s your starting point, then consider your tasks more closely. Does the mixer come with the attachments you’ll want to use? If not, you should also consider the additional cost of purchasing attachments. This can add up a lot if you get excited about getting a lot of use out of your mixer and consider other add-ons.

But if you plan to do a lot of cooking and baking using your mixer, then you’ll want to opt for a higher wattage, larger bowl, available add-on attachments, and more speed. Note that I did not say “speeds.” A machine with 4 speeds will serve you just as well as 10 speeds. Most people can’t tell the difference between a 3 or 4 and a 5 or 6 anyway. If you often cook for friends or large family get-togethers, then you might even want to consider using a professional-level model. There’s a higher price tag attached, but the higher wattage and additional add-on attachments make this beloved appliance a more useful part of your cooking life.

Do You Need An Extended Warranty?

Finally, you should consider whether you need an extended warranty. You can decide this by basing the cost of the extended warranty against the purchase price of the mixer. If you’ve purchased an expensive mixer with a lot of features, then you might want to opt for this extra warranty.

Personally, I do the math carefully and I almost never purchase extended warranties.

Here’s my reasoning. If the mixer is relatively inexpensive to replace, say under $200, then it will probably last you just fine for at least a few years. If that estimated period is still within the regular warranty period, that’s a safe bet. At least to me. Of course, you should actually *read* the regular and extended warranties if possible. Sometimes they’re sneaky about what they actually cover. And just in case I have to buy another mixer a few years later, I’ll get newer features and a new “lifetime” of use. And not paying for the warranty goes against a possible new purchase.

If I consider cost of the extended warranty versus the possible short lifetime of the stand mixer and its replacement cost, it’s worth doing a close look at the money involved. But I’ve been “scammed” a few times by up-sells on warranties and you’ll find that in 90% of the cases, you buy the extended warranty and the product either lasts far beyond that or it fails under warranty and costs nothing to get a replacement. And you’re just out the cost, because an extended warranty will not apply to a replacement provided under warranty.

In Conclusion

While purchasing a new stand mixer appears to be quite straightforward, pardon my pun but there are a lot of “moving parts” in the decision.

If you work through this buying guide, you can follow a path through your options and what to consider in each elements. Take a step-by-step path towards narrowing your desired features and options and when you reach the end, you’ll have a solid list of decision points that matter in making the best decision for your new stand mixer.

Cooking Tips

Save Time Using Frozen Dough for Breads, Rolls, Sweet Breads, and Pastries How To Quickly Add Breads To Your Menu Starting From Frozen

save time using frozen dough for breads

Bread dough is bread dough. At least to the point of creating the base dough from flour, yeast, and water.

You can find frozen bun and bread dough, sweet dough, and puff pastry in the freezer section of your grocery store, all ready to go once thawed.

So using frozen dough as a starter just makes your life easier and saves time.

Small portions of frozen dough can be thawed on the counter in just 40 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. All you have to do is remove the desired number of portions.

How To Use Frozen Bread or Bun Dough

If you are thawing on the counter, simply put them on a sheet pan while waiting on them. If you prefer the overnight method, place them on an oiled pan or in an oiled storage tub with enough room between them to allow for expansion as they thaw.

The best part is these don’t have to be boring breads. You can customize yours with herbs, cheese, or seaonings. And with the hard part done, you can shape and form them into twists, filled spirals, or snails for best presentation.

For cheesy goodness, try using flavorful melting cheese like cheddar or gouda or even experiment with cheeses infused with herbs like dill havarti.

For herbs, winter breads and rolls do well with flat-leaf parsley (more flavor than curly, and save the stems for stocks and soups), thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic, onion, oregano, or dill. Pick your favorites.

I like to dip my formed breads and buns in melted butter before rolling them in the herbs and placing in the baking pan. The resulting buns and breads are pull-apart delicious.

What Else Can You Make With Bread Dough?

But frozen dough isn’t just for the holidays. During the year, you can make mini pizzas, flatbreads, stromboli, dinner rolls, or calzones. Even pretzels! If you need a bigger piece of dough, just press small dough sections into a larger ball and shape them.

How To Use Sweet Dough For Yummy Treats

But frozen dough isn’t just for regular breads and buns. Sweet dough is available frozen as well. It’s enriched with eggs and butter and makes a fabulous cinnamon roll, sweet bread, or sweet braids. Shape and place in a buttered loaf pan and create pull-apart treats for everyday yummy goodness.

If you want to thaw overnight, spray some plastic wrap with oil and cover the dough to refrigerate and thaw overnight. Bring it to room temperature to bake the next day.

What About Pastry Dough For Desserts?

It works best to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, but if you’re in a hurry, you can use the “faster way.” Leave it out on the counter for about 40 minutes to thaw. Then unwrap and cover with a towel for another 30 minutes. Once it is flexible enough to shape, go to town.

However, puff pastry needs to feel cold the entire time while working it, so if it gets warm, put it back in the fridge to cool it down again. You don’t want to try to work with warmed dough.

If you’re working with a sheet of pastry dough, you can do a bunch of things with it for a versatile treat. Cut into squares, folded over and filled to make turnovers, or shaped into muffin tins and filled with a savory or sweet filled treat.

If you have ever had melted brie wrapped into puff pastry, you’ll be in love at the first bite. It’s one of my favorite treats as a starter for a fancy dinner at home or as an appetizer for a dinner party. Of course, I like to hog it for myself and not share it!

How Do You Prepare Puff Pastry For Filling?

Start by lining a sheet pan with parchment paper and place your full pastry sheet or smaller scored squares on it. Create a border about half an inch from the edge as a border and brush it with lightly beaten egg. Pierce the rectangles in several spots with a fork to allow for expansion.

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes to bring the dough to a puffed and golden goodness.

Once cooled on a rack, you can add fillings. My favorites are jam, pastry cream, and chocolate. You can experiment with puddings, too. Then topping with pie fillings or fresh berries. Whatever sounds good to you and your family!

Savory fillings are also a great treat to make tarts. Use shredded cheese or herbs. My favorite is a melty cheddar, havarti, or other soft cheese. Try brie — it’s fabulous. Nuts are a good addition to savory puff pastries. Pecans, chopped walnuts, or whatever nuts suit your fancy.

Once you layer the pastry, you can roll it up like a cinnamon roll and slice into thin pieces to bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Finish it off with a bruff of egg and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. You’ll like it best served warm. I do.