If you saw yesterday’s corn chowder recipe, you read that at the end of the cooking time, the recipe calls for scooping out half of the chowder, pureeing it in a blender, and then adding it back to the crockpot.  This was a bit of an inconvenience, and has prompted me to add one of these handheld blenders, sometimes called immersion blenders, to my kitchen gadgets list.

The KitchenAid immersion blender above is made by KitchenAid, and allows you to blend anything, including scorching hot corn chowder, right in the pot.  You can immerse the blender in up to 8 inches of liquid, and it comes with several dishwasher-safe attachments.  Sounds much easier than taking my blender apart, and washing the glass pitcher.  I found this immersion blender at FFEMAX.Com for $52.99.

You can use handheld blenders in many recipes, including soups, mashed potatoes, whipping up diet shakes, and quick milkshakes.