Blender

Photo: Thinkstock

1 of 5
Blender
In an ideal world, you'd...pull it out and make margaritas every weekend.

In reality…you can shake your margaritas using a metal shaker and a pint glass, and serve them on the rocks. Or, if you have an ice cream maker, help it pull its weight by enlisting it to make perfectly slushy frozen drinks. A food processor or Cuisinart Mini-Prep can definitely handle smoothies. If you must have a blender, opt for its smaller cousin, the immersion blender (or hand blender), which is much easier to store and clean up, and purees soups beautifully.