Best Blender and Best Food Proccessor? Maybe a Combo? Which Would You Reccomend?

I have had my Kitchen Aid Food Processor for years and still love it! It has a big bowl and a smaller bowl that fits in it for smaller jobs and comes with different blades, including one for mixing dough and one for grating cheese, and others. Its great! I don't use a blender much so I just have a cheapo one. If you do much mixing you must have a Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer as well - they are the best!!!

I love love LOVE my KitchenAid Blender, Food Processor and Stand Mixer. I have them in the Susan G Komen pink. I originally had the Kitchenaid hand held mixer, and really liked it, but always coveted the big old Martha Stewart style stand mixer, and in pink? Come on... the ultimate girl tool! Well, anyway, the hand mixer started dropping one of the beaters while I was using it. I emailed Kitchenaid and inquired about a warranty repair. They asked for my serial number etc.. and then informed me that I had registered that mixer 13+ years ago! Has it been that long? Time flies when you are using the best appliances to whip up your chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie batters! lol Anyway, while trying to figure out what to do, I was walking through Dillards one night on my way to pick out a suit for my husband for a wedding that we were attending... and whaaaaa - there on the floor under a display table was a box for the big stand mixer in pink and it had a red clearance sticker on it!!!!! I pulled it out and drooled, and pushed it back under, pulled it out and drooled, and then pushed it back under.....Finally decided to walk away. Well, having been in retail in some form or another for over 20 years now, I know that Dillards ALWAYS has the clearance stuff and extra % off at some point. As I was walking away - an associate asked if she could help me with anything.. I asked her when the next extra % off clearance was going to start and she told me it would be starting the NEXT DAY! After picking out a beautiful Ralph Lauren suit for the hubby, I went home and told him that in 43 years I had NEVER asked a man for ANYTHING, but that I wanted that mixer so badly I was going to tell him that if I didn't get it for our 6th anniversary (and he hadn't really acknowledged the first 5) that I would be BEYOND disappointed! just saying.... Anyway, I did receive it for an anniversary gift, and the handheld in pink for my birthday 2 months later! In the mean time, I splurged it up like CRAZY (I never buy for myself) and bought the blender and food processor as they were also on clearance. Kitchenaid had REBATE forms on their website to print and mail in. After rebate - my $300+ stand mixer was just barely over $100, the handheld that is usually just over $70 was less than $30, the blender - usually $125 was like $19 and the food processor usually around $150 or $200 was like $40. LOVE LOVE LOVE them all. In fact, my best friend was getting divorced, and when the big finale finally came she was really depressed. I sent her a hand mixer in pink with a card that said "Cheer up - today is the first day of the rest of your life, go bake yourself some cookies in your 'no man lives here' kitchen!" She loves it too! When I told her about my scores of the blender and food processor - she bought them as well and loves them equally as much. The food processor has a full size bowl and a mini bowl that sits in the top - so if you are only chopping a few nuts or something small you don't have to dirty the whole big one. After watching Martha make pie crust with a food processor - it changed the way and the speed with which I can crank them out during the holidays! I say - go Kitchenaid - you won't be sad that you did. If Dillards doesn't have any on clearance any more, (it has been several years) - Sears can order them in your color of choice, and HomeGoods (if you have one near you) often times has Kitchenaid stuff at reasonable prices. Check their website for rebates too! Good luck & have fun!

I also like Magic Bullet. I am on my second one since I burned the motor on the first one. I'd made baby food for both my babies with it and breakfast smoothies. It works well and stores easily.

I have to items that I get a lot of milage out of, 1) my Cusinart food processor, I bought it last year at Amazon for a real good price and I love it. 2) my Emersion blender, I had that one for the last 16 years, everything that needs blending I use it. It is small ( a plus for my small kitchen), easy to clean and does a great job. I made baby food with it, blended soups right in the pot, I make majonaise with it, pesto is easy and quick, my daughter makes smoothis with it. It is a BRAUN not sure how much it was but it is still working great after 16 years.

The most used item in my kitchen is a Vitamix blender. They have a web site, www.vitamix.com; I've seen them in Sur la Table and demo'd in Costco, but not in the major department stores. I just drop in fruit or vegetables (no peeling if the skin is edible) and ice for smoothies or soup, it has variable speeds, and a 'turbo' mode with a 2 hpw motor. There is an opening in the lid to add items during blending, so convenient. I also use an 11 cup Cuisinart food processor for the larger slicing and chopping and a Kitchenaid stand mixer (their metal attachments are 'burnished' and must be handwashed and dryed immediatedly, its in their manual). If you look at Food Processors, be aware that all sizes chop, but only the larger sizes have a slicing blade. Clean up time increases with every machine used..knife vs processor, hand-wash vs dishwash...it's a trade off. Good Luck.

We have the Cuisinart. I've killed two motors and keep buying it. I don't think they make things like they used to. So I'm not heartbroken when it dies. We make smoothies with lots of ice and it grinds it up better than anything I've seen. I love using one base for both blending and food processing, although I don't use the food processor much. I think ours was MAYBE $100, but I usually wait for sales or go to Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon for 20% off. They usually have these types of things on sale around the holidays for all of the cooks.

Magic Bullet because it is easy to clean, I can keep it in a drawer, and it only cost 30 on sale.
I gave away a big pitcher type blender and something that shamwow guy sold on tv(chop magic?).

I love my magic bullet. It makes great smoothies, and homemade baby food, salsa. But i havent really tried it for anything else. It is so much cheaoer than the expensive mixers and blenders and its all easy to take apart and dishwasher safe. Hope this helps.

Unless you are going to be Martha Stewart... I doubt a large gourmet sized & gourmet priced food processor will be worth the cost.
I have one. A high end Cuisinart food processor.... and.... I have NEVER used it. To much of a hassle.

I am a cooker... I cook from scratch. Every day.
I only use my simple basic blender for smoothies or liquids.
Then, I have the Cuisinart Food Chopper/Grinder, for chopping/mincing
The small 4 cup sized.
and I have the Cuisinart Mini Mate Chopper. That is good enough and is real handy. Good for small amounts.

I also have a hand-immersion blender... for when I make soups... I can just blend/puree it up right IN the pot itself, like when I make potato Leek soup. Its my favorite kitchen gadget.
I would really recommend a hand-immersion blender.
I have Cuisinart.... l like Cuisinart.

That is what I would recommend.

good luck,
Susan

I second the magic bullet!

VitaMix for blender. Awesome! worth every penny you pay for it.