I used to knead all my bread by hand, then I inherited my brother's KitchenAid. What a difference it makes to knead using the mixer. Much improved texture, better results all around. So make bread and pizza dough!

Get a grinder attachment! They can be used for all kinds of stuff!

Another fun attachment: pasta! It's pretty easy to roll out homemade pasta with the KA attachment, and the fresh pasta can be frozen.

Find a thin crust pizza dough you like (I like The Kitchn's best actually - I add rosemary and a little olive oil though). Once you get into the habit of making that once a week, which takes an absurdly small amount of time, you'll think to use and tweak the recipe for all sorts of things! I use it to make sandwich pockets for my husband's work lunches (leftover thanksgiving sandwich, curried chicken and paneer, etc). Calzones too yummmmm. Its such an easy setup to clean just the bowl and an attachment, I use it constantly. Fresh pasta attachment seconded!!!

tifa, could you elaborate on the many uses of the grinder attachment? I was given one for Christmas, because we were fortunate enough to harvest 3 deer this fall, but besides grinding venison, I'm not sure how to put it to use!

Yes to the bread kneading!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/stout-chocolate-cherry-bread-10000000408867/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/rich-chocolate-babka-50400000116729/

I broke a hand mixer trying to make these and vowed to NEVAH make them again until I got a stand mixer.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/German-Butter-Cookies

@jeffncarolyn

You can also use it to grind nuts to make marzipan.

You can grind cooked eggplant to make baba ghanouj or russian eggplant caviar. Ground vegetables are a totally different texture than food processer ones. Grinding onions into the meat is great for dumplings and meatloaf.
I use the mixer itself for super smooth cheesecakes, cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, icings, and dough.

Mashed potatoes! Toss your cooked potatoes, add your butter, cream, herbs..or whatever, into the bowl. Pulse on low to break up your spuds (if helps if you chop them into smaller chunks before cooking), then set the mixer to medium. The result is awesomely creamy, smooth spuds.

Aside from being a baking necessity, for pizza and bread dough as well as sweets, I absolutely adore the ice cream attachment. The bowl stays in the freezer at all times, where I toss bags of frozen fruit in it.

For the grinder attachment: buy pork loins on sale at Costco or Sams and make your own breakfast sausage patties. You can flavor the meat with anything you want - from a sweet apple sausage, to a really really spicy hot breakfast sausage. I love making my own sausage.

Also use it to grind your own beef for burgers or salmon for croquettes or salmon burgers - using the larger holes for a coarser grind.

what breed of cat is that? it looks exactly like ours, who was a rescue stray.

Ugh.....all I can see is a cat on the counter. Gross!!!!!!! It's funny how I find this blog so full of germaphobes, yet this does not seem to bother many people. By the way, what does this picture have to do with a Kitchen Aid mixer?

@cassbass: If you had read the article, you'd realize that the mixer is right behind the head of the author's cat. I am also not a fan of cats on counters, but there's no need to be quite so snarky about it.

As for the mixer, doesn't everyone make their mashed potatoes in their mixer? Oh, they're so delicious that way. I just made some last night. I find they turn out better if you whip the potatoes first until smooth and then add the butter, cream, etc. Other things: pierogi filling, cakes, frosting, deviled egg filling (it's so creamy when done in the mixer), hummus (any kind of dip, really), lots of desserts (chocolate mousse, brownies, meringue, cookies of all sorts, cream pie filling, etc).

Out of curiosity, why does your wife hate when you use the mixer? The clean up? Because I just toss all that stuff in the dishwasher. What's the use of having a pricey mixer if you don't use it? Plus, if you're using it that means you're doing some cooking, which should surely please your wife. Good luck!

cassbass -- I totally agree. I had to put up with in-laws cats becasue of Superstorm Sandy displacement. I hated seeing them in my lovely new kitchen -- gross. Cat litter dust all over -- the skeeviest thing I've ever had to live with.

Jack the cat is a doppelganger for my second cat (I adopted him when he was 6 & he lived to be just over 20). Is Jack a Maine Coon mix?

For the KitchenAid - it makes the smoothest sweet potatoes ever if you let them run for a little while with the paddle attachment. All the fiber strands get caught on the paddle and the mashed sweet potatoes in the bowl are amazingly smooth. I'm sure it cuts down on the fiber, but I don't worry about it.

If you chill the bowl in the freezer it makes amazing whipped cream with the whisk attachment. Home-made whipped cream is like heaven, especially when dolloped onto a refreshingly tart slice of lemon or key lime pie.

You can use the power of the kitchen aid to easily whip butter with honey, it makes toast into something special.

Have you ever been scrambing ground beef to put in tacos or sauce & you get distracted long enough that the meat cooks as bigger chunks than you wanted? the paddle attachment on the KA will break it up into a perfectly even consistency (great if you want to get a finer 'crumb' of ground beef for a casserole or empanadas).

How about mix your meatloaf in the mixer. I also use the mixer to mix the filling for wontons & Vietnamese eggrolls.

lol, I confess I only read the comments to see how long it would take for someone to mention the cat :) I miss mine (monstertruck - looks like a Maine Coon to me)

I only use mine for baking - I much prefer to make mashed spuds with a hand-masher - but if I ever get a grinder, I'd make my own ground for meatloaf, burgers, ravioli, dumplings, etc. I think you can also get an attachment to process tomatoes for sauce.

I never thought to use my KitchenAid for mashed potatoes. Duh!

I see mashed potatoes on my horizon..

I don't understand why anyone would hate a kitchenaid quite honestly... my guess is that she's not much of a kitchen person? I think the best way for that mixer to win her heart is with the ice cream maker attachment (frequently on sale on amazon). Mashed potatoes also happen in that mixer along with plenty of baked goods & meatballs fairly often! Make tasty things in it- how could she possibly hate it then??

I received one for Christmas, and haven't tried this yet, but I've heard you can shredded cooked meat like chicken breasts using the paddle attachment.

Indeed, the KitchenAid works like a charm to shred meat. I use it weekly to shred a big batch of chicken breasts and I always admire the magic that can occur within only a few minutes at medium to high (watch out for flying chicken pieces if you don't have the bowl cover).

Try making bulk meatballs and burger patties in your mixer.
Make bulk loads of cat crunchies or dogloaf for your pets.
If you have the pasta attachment you could do a bulk load of dough up into various shapes. My dog used to love them stuffed with minced liver and slightly dried out in oven for training treats.
Love seeing the cat in the kitchen and the supervisory expression he is wearing.
If you have pets (cats, birds etc) and you know they get on the bench, wipe the bench down with hot soapy water and spray with a white vinegar/ sage or lavender essential oil/ water mix before use. My fur babies have the run of the house, kitchen included.
Kids? I hate seing them in the kitchen with their snooty noses and bug laden fingers everywhere.

This works like magic: Cook chicken breast and put it whole into the mixer bowl, mix it for a few seconds and it'll come out all perfectly shredded. It's so speedy it made me literally laugh out loud the first time I tried it.

I am considering setting up an altar in the back yard to make sacrifices toward gaining possession of a KitchenAid. One day...

Had I the use of one, it surely would have been employed just a while ago as I was mixing up the meatloaf for dinner.

I agree about the grinder attachment and also the grater. A friend has a 6-quart mixer and also a 3-quart bowl that fits it for smaller batches.

I have used the commercial version of the KitchenAid and can assure you that there is no substitute when making up 40 quarts of mashed potatoes or a huge batch of mayonnaise. What a machine!

SOOOO funny, that is why I read the comments! And I was quite surprised how many comments never mentioned the cat. I have one sassy one that I have stopped fighting with about the counter.

Mixing meat loaf!!! Why did I never think of this before? BRILLIANT!!!

As someone with aged and arthritic hands and wrists there's no way I could make bread without my KitchenAid, and I it also gets a huge workout during Christmas cookie baking season. I'm also about to set the grinder attachment to work on some leftover roast beef to make roast beef hash.

Now that I've recently retired I'm also considering getting a pasta attachment. I've loved my KitchenAid for about 30 years now, and if it ever dies I'll be getting a new one so fast your head will spin.

Aww, that furry bundle of love can sit on amy countertop he wants. :) what a handsome little guy.

If you are interested in the pasta or ice cream maker, the Foodnetwork Store, www.foodnetworkstore.com, has Kitchenaid attachments on sale this week for 30% or more off.

eggwhites. meringue, pavlova, chocolate mousse.

I'll second the mash, but remember use only the paddle. Someone used mine and chose the whisk. I retrieved it somewhat mangled.

Marshmallows! You need a heat resistant bowl - perfect for your KitchenAid... Maybe as a sweet treat for Valentine's?

My suggestions are a few repeats but here's my list of go-to items for my beloved Kitchen Aid.

-chocolate chip meringe cookies,
-mashed potatoes (full fat version, don't you dare throw in any margerine),
-Lawry's Prime Rib whipped cream horseradish: http://www.lawrysonline.com/lawrys-primerib/beverly-hills/all-recipes
-ice cream (great excuse to buy another attachment)
-Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies
-mayonnaise (from scratch)

Have FUN!!!!!

I've had my Martha Stewart green (jadite) 6 qt. epicurean i got refurb from KA's ebay store for 10 years now, and it's still going strong. I use it an average of once a week, and even more frequent than that if I am making a friends wedding cake, or during holidays/birthdays. I've always wanted to get attachments for it, but it was a splurge in itself. What I love about it that I did not love from my previous all plastic stand mixer from 10 years ago is the size. I can get the hugest amount of batter in the stainless steel bowl without feeling something is about to break, spill, etc. When I bake I often double and triple the measurements and my KA takes it and doesn't waver. So next time you make a batch of Cooks Illustrated's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, make triple! and ship to your grandma or take them to work or freeze them, etc. Share the love. :)