Some people dream of their wedding day. Some people imagine their dream home, or their dream car. Some plan their dream vacations. For as long as I can remember, I've been imagining my dream kitchen.

Over the years various things have changed in my dream kitchen. At one point I wanted all light blue vintage appliances. Once, I wanted my cabinets to be turquoise and I wanted a massive walk in pantry. One time my dream kitchen was all white with red countertops. There has always been one constant in my kitchen dreams.... my KitchenAid Mixer. I have wanted one since I was a little girl watching my grandma mix various in her KitchenAid Mixer. I was amazed by it because I had only ever seen the hand mixer that my mom used at our house.

My husband gave me my KitchenAid Mixer our first Christmas together as a married couple. I don't know if I can express how much I truly love it. If my house was on fire and my family was safely out and I could save one thing, it would be my mixer.

When I got my KitchenAid Mixer I was pretty much aware of the basic things any stand mixer could do, like mixing batters and doughs, but I had no idea all of the other things I could do with it! Even if you don't buy all gazillion (seriously I don't know how many there are but dozens, possibly hundreds) attachments, you can still do a ton of things with the three basic attachments that come with your mixer.

Basic Attachments

The standard mixer comes with a flat beater which is also called a paddle, a wire whip, and a dough hook. Here's what each of those do.

The Paddle works best with normal to heavy mixtures like cakes, frostings, candies, cookie batters, pie pastry, biscuits, quick breads, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes.

The Wire Whip works best for mixtures that need air incorporated into them. For example; beating eggs, egg whites, heavy cream, sponge cakes, angel food cakes, and homemade mayonnaise.

The Dough Hook is for mixing and kneading doughs and really saves you from having to knead with your hands, which to me is super intimidating! You can use the dough hook for things like breads, rolls, coffee cakes, and buns

KitchenAid Mixer Hacks and Tips

First and foremost, read the owner's manual before you use your KitchenAid Mixer.

To avoid splatter, always start mixing on low, then increase the speed.
Pro Tip*: If you need to scrape down the sides, turn the mixer OFF first. Leaving it on is a great way to break your best wooden spatula and possibly break off a couple fingers.
When making whipped cream, chill the bowl and the beaters beforehand. Your whipped cream will be much fluffier and happier.
Sometimes when mixing in flour or powdered sugar, things can get kind of messy. Drape a clean kitchen towel over your mixing bowl after adding your ingredients then mix. Just be careful to not let the towel get caught in the beater OR if you want to be fancy, you could make a bowl cover out of a lid.
Shred cooked chicken (or pork, or beef) easily with your mixer. More on this later.
Place a pretty kitchen towel under your mixer so you can easily slide it around on your counter. That thing is pretty heavy.
Cover the mixing bowl with a shower cap when you aren't using it (it = the mixer or the shower cap I guess) to keep dust and other things out. My mixer sits right under a basket full of onions in my kitchen, so this keeps onion skins out of my bowl.
Install hooks under your cabinets to hang your attachments.

*more like "cooking for dummies" tip