I’ve never had a need for a blender. I’m not a super fan of smoothie’s. I prefer to eat my fruit solid–bite by bite. I’m sure I could use more veggies, so the idea of disguising greens does make me want to turn to be a smoothie fan. I’d heard many amazing things about Blendtec Blenders, and when the offer came to review the new designer series blender plus *Twister jar, I had to give a try. (Opinions 100% my own). Let me just say, I’m so excited about this machine–and I’m not a fan of lots of kitchen gadgets. I made some homemade pesto with just 3 ingredients, and it was SO easy! Â (see the bottom of this post for an exciting giveaway!)
What I didn’t realize is that this blender does SO much more than make smoothies, I received a cookbook along with many amazing blender recipes (many online, too). I’ve flipped through those pages with my jaw dropped at the amazing options: First of which is to make almond butter. The one single ingredient? Raw Almonds! This blender works so hard, it literally crushes the almonds to a buttery substance. Awesome.
See Recipe here
Using the *twister jar, allows for scraping during the blending process. See the definition:
*The Twister™ jar is designed to blend your thickest recipes, such as nut butters, hummus, baby food, dips, thick shakes, dressings and more! Best of all, the Twister jar is compatible with all Blendtec consumer blenders. To use the jar, simply add ingredients and twist the lid counter-clockwise while the blend cycle is running. This twisting motion forces the ingredients from the sides of the jar back into the blade, allowing you to achieve a perfect blend every time.
What I love is that the blender blade isn’t sharp at all. In fact, it’s quite smooth. I wouldn’t be able to cut my finder on it if I tried. The motor on the blender is that powerful.
My husband inaugurated the machine with a few of his random smoothie concoctions, but my first blend was to make this homemade pesto.
Let me tell you a funny story about pesto. A few weeks ago I was visiting my brother and sister in law in Corpus Christi (remember the day at the beach and Pirate Party?) and I was helping make an appetizer for the party, and suggested this Cheesy Pesto Bread. My sister in law, Kim, got all the ingredients before I got there. When I asked where the jar of pesto was, she said: we gotta make it. Make it…huh? How does one do that, I ask.
She walked outside to her bountiful basil plant, and hacked off a big limb, and brought it back inside. I wish I had a picture of the random branch I was holding with bewilderment, unsure what to do. Per Kims instructions, I pulled off a handful of basil leaves, added some olive oil, and nuts, and that was it! Blend, done.
I had no idea it was so simple, and I LOVED the fresh taste! I pretty much ate 75% of that pesto bread myself, it was so dang delicious. We actually used walnuts that day (the nut doesn’t really matter) but for this recipe, I used the traditional pine nuts.
I don’t quite have my own basil plant, so I bought some at the store. Â Here is the simple recipe:
- 4 ounces fresh basil
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 ounces pine nuts
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Place in blender, pulse until smooth pesto sauce. Add to pasta or bread
So go ahead, be domestic, make your own Pesto!!
If you like pesto, you might also like this recipe: Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Sausage
Today, I’m SO stinkin’ excited to be able to give AWAY a Blendtec Blender plus Twister jar (which is a smaller jar that accompanies the larger blending container). To see more of what the Blendtec can blend, see their website on the link, it can do doughs, soups, whatever you’d like! Valued over $500!!!
