KitchenAid® Pasta Roller and Fettuccine Cutter

As a newlywed, I made breads and pasta by hand but as I became busier with raising a young family while earning higher education, I moved onto a few mechanical methods.  I went to a breadmachine, but never pleased with the baking results it ended up being a glorified dough mixer.  I opted for buying dry and fresh pastas at the grocery store.  A few years ago I splurged on a KitchenAid® stand mixer, made bagels and immediately saw the potential so started buying attachments.  Several years ago I started having problems with my wrists and fingers, so these attachments would allow me to save money without stressing my joints.

I honestly don't think I have ever paid full price for any kitchen equipment including my stand mixer or attachments.  I have no problem waiting for a good sale to pick up a piece of kitchen equipment I want but I won't pay full price!  Canadian Tire really makes it's money off of automotive supplies and repairs which means they tend to offer great deals on the other items they stock.  About a month ago, they had the KitchenAid® stand mixers on sale and a promotional offer for the pasta roller and fettuccine cutter set (KETPRA) for $89.99.  The paster roller is valued at $90 itself on the KitchenAid® site so it was like getting the fettuccine cutter free!  It wasn't in stock so they gave me a rain check.  It came in yesterday so I am beyond excited!

Sometimes being frugal in the kitchen is not about money, it about getting a superior product in terms of freshness and flavour.  So it is with homemade pasta like homemade egg noodles.  If you compare current prices fresh, ready to cook deli pasta is about 10¢ per serving, dried pasta is 18¢ per 85 g serving and homemade is 39¢ per serving.  The price per serving of homemade pasta looks quite high on the surface but it all depends on how much your eggs cost.  I am currently paying 30¢ per egg but I can get them as low as 15¢ per egg when available which reduces my cost for homemade pasta to 23¢ per serving.  Now the thing is, I do pride myself in my homemade, gourmet style tomato sauces so paying a bit extra for that ultimate pasta taste to match the sauces is worth it to me.  Unlike the ready to cook, fresh deli pastas there are no preservatives with homemade pastas either.  I know I'm using free range eggs as well.  Homemade pasta comes in less expensive than the specialty pastas (eg. vegetable, whole wheat).  The neat thing is homemade uncooked pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for use that week or frozen for later use.