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The Kitchen Appliance That Saves Me Hundreds Per Year

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There's one kitchen appliance that we use every day and it saves us hundreds of dollars per year - Really cool and looks delish!

There’s one kitchen appliance that gets used more than any other at our house. And no lies, it saves me hundreds of dollars per year. Plus, it’s just the most handy appliance we’ve ever owned.

I use it to help make soups, to save money on snacks, and to make special dessert treats.

So what’s this awesome appliance? It’s my Ninja “Master Prep” Blender.

Before you ask: No, this is not a sponsored post. Ninja has no idea I’m writing this post. I just adore this thing and think everyone should own one because it does so much for me.

We got a classic blender/food processor for our wedding and it was terrible. It blended the bottom inch of the container and did nothing to the rest. Every blender I see promises that it will rotate what is inside so that it all gets blended, but I’ve never seen one that actually does. Plus the blender from our wedding broke after a few uses. Not great.

The reason I love my Ninja is because the blade goes all the way through the container, so everything really does get blended. There are a lot of pieces, but I like that it all comes apart and can all go in the dishwasher. Just be careful of those blades because they are crazy sharp.

One thing I don’t love is that the blender lid has some crevices that are tough to clean. What works best for us is to rinse all of the parts immediately after we use it, and then it comes clean really well in the dishwasher.

I know people swear by the Blendtec blenders, and I’ve never used one so I don’t know, but holy crap, they’re expensive. The Ninja works great for me for a much lower price.

Ok, so how do I save so much money with this thing?

We use our Ninja “Master Prep” Blender to make frugal snacks and treats at home.

Going out for ice cream and buying hummus at the store are both super expensive and those are two of the biggest ways we save money.

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Flavored Ice Cream

The big gallon-sized tubs of ice cream at the store are always the best deal, but we always get sick of the flavor we pick before we can eat it all. Then the tub of ice cream sits in our freezer for weeks or months and gets freezer burnt like crazy.Design (1)

We have started buying gallon containers of plain vanilla ice cream though, which we turn into gourmet ice cream at home.

We scoop the vanilla ice cream into the Ninja, along with a bit of milk and whatever “flavorings” we want and it basically blends into gourmet soft serve.

It works best to blend the milk and flavoring first, then add the ice cream and blend some more.

Here are the mix-ins we’ve tried (plus some pro tips from Austin, who is my ice cream maker 🙂 ):

  • Strawberries – This might be my favorite: Strawberry ice cream made with fresh strawberries! Don’t add any milk with this one. The strawberries have enough liquid in them.
  • Cherries
  • Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips – it’s like Reese’s ice cream y’all. So good.
  • Peanut Butter – Adding nuts is amazing.
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Coffee – Amazing. Blend a serving of instant coffee granules (small spoonful) into the bit of milk and then add in the vanilla ice cream. Some chocolate syrup on top is not a bad idea.
  • Nutella
  • Oreos – I haven’t tried this yet, but I need to!

We have had so much fun trying new flavors. It’s a delicious at-home treat. For how much we eat ice cream (and how much we used to go out for ice cream), the Ninja saves us a lot of money.

Snacks

I’ve shared with you my recipe for Blender Salsa, which I have been completely addicted to for a few years now. It’s so easy and tastes so fresh.

Every time I make it for a crowd, I get asked for the recipe. It only takes me about 5 minutes to blend up.

This Kitchen Appliance Saves Me Hundreds Per Year

I make hummus at home too. I am shocked at how much the stores charge for a tiny container of hummus when it is so inexpensive to make yourself. And easy too.

Here’s the link to the base recipe that I use: Hummus Recipe

You can tweak it and add different toppings to customize it for yourself. I like ours with just a little olive oil and smoked paprika on top.

The recipe I use calls for tahini, which is sesame seed paste. It can be a little hard to find at the store. It’s either by the peanut butter or in a Mediterranean foods section. Some people substitute peanut butter or leave it out. I’ve never tried either, so let me know if that’s how you do it. I’m curious.

Basically, all you do is blend everything together. Once you make it yourself, you’re going to wonder why you’ve been paying so much for it.

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Soup

This last one is more of a time saver than money saver, but ‘time is money’ right?

We eat a ton of soup throughout the long, long, long cold seasons here. If you just press the button on the Ninja real quick a couple of times, it chops veggies up nice and little to throw in a soup.

I still use a knife to chop potatoes or veggies I want in bigger chunks, but the Ninja works well if you want smaller pieces.

This Kitchen Appliance Saves Me Hundreds Per Year: Ninja Blender

If you want to take a look at the Ninja I have, here’s the link.

⇒ What’s your favorite kitchen appliance? What’s your secret to saving money on treats and snacks?

The Kitchen Appliance That Saves Me Hundreds Per Year

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Jenai

Saturday 17th of September 2016

What a great perspective you have on this! I use my Magic or NutriBullet everyday too in pretty much the same ways as you but I hadn't thought about how much money it saves. I also use my Bullet for chopping and smoothies. I'll have to check out the Ninja because of the blade.

Christine

Saturday 17th of September 2016

That's awesome Jenai!

Kathy

Monday 22nd of August 2016

I'm with you I love my ninja and also when it comes to having hummus skip the tahini and the chickpeas and use white beans in the can drained of course and artichokes I usually add olives you don't need much juice to add to this little lemon juice little garlic and some sun-dried tomatoes you will have the most awesome hummus dip in the world cuz he needs expensive love you little blog you're so practical it's such a blessing

Christine

Monday 22nd of August 2016

That's sounds like an awesome recipe! I've never heard of making hummus that way. I'll have to try it!

Erika

Saturday 13th of August 2016

When I first clicked on this article, I was convinced you were going to talk about a slow cooker. What a cool surprise! These photos look yummy. I need to check out this ninja!

Christine

Saturday 13th of August 2016

Haha, I definitely could write that too! I love my slow cooker :)

Jolina

Friday 12th of August 2016

We have two blenders at home - one for bigger batches and one that's just for a cup so now I'm thinking we should just get a ninja to replace them both!

Christine

Friday 12th of August 2016

Yes! The set I have actually has 3 different sized cups. They all use the same motor thing though. Really handy!

Kimba Han

Friday 12th of August 2016

I love our blender as well! We make our own smoothies every day. I have to try making my own ice cream one day.

Christine

Friday 12th of August 2016

It's sooooo good! You've got to try it Kimba!

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