Another Favorite Product in 2012

For some reason, lately I have been thinking about everything my long-ago women ancestors had to do just to accomplish simple, necessary tasks, like washing clothes and making bread for their families. I don't know how they did it all; I feel like I have more to do in a day than I can possibly accomplish, and that's with electricity and modern conveniences, like this immersion blender!

Last Christmas, my husband gave me this, which was something I had had on my wish list for a while. I use it often and am so glad I have it. It takes so much less time to make creamy soups (like my favorite, Cheesy Cauliflower/Broccoli Soup), and produces fewer dirty pots and pans, since I can just cream it all right in the soup pot I serve it in. I'm all about efficiency!

I also like having the other containers, as shown in the picture. These may be specific to the Oster brand and weren't something I planned on, but they have also been helpful. One of them has a blade and hooks right up to the top part of the blender, as I mentioned in my Sneaky Chicken Nuggets recipe recently.

Seriously, what's not to love?