Blend it up baby! This is one of my favorite kitchen tools: the almighty HAND BLENDER! It’s a combination hooka and coffeemaker, also makes julienne fries! Will not break! (famous line from Aladdin) – Seriously, I use my hand blender (aka immersion blender) all of the time to make soups, sauces & bases. It’s an easy tool to use, clean and store. If you get the hand blender that has the extra tools, then it can also act as a food processor & chopper… which is nice 😉

Here’s what I have: $53 from Amazon w/ extra tools/attachments – I’ve had it for 3 years and use it weekly. Still going strong. When I am chopping small items I use the attachments – otherwise I just use a food processor.

You can get a basic hand blender for less than $35, but Cuisinart really has the best reviews. Here is their cheapest hand blender.