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10 Great Reasons to Love Your Food Processor
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By:
Rodger Haroar |
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If you don’t have a food processor, you’re really missing out on a wonderful appliance. I recommend that you get one as soon as possible, especially since there are so many delicious things you can make with one. Actually, I have two food processors: a small one for herbs and slicing veggies and a large one for making fabulous dishes. Here is my list of favorite things to make with my food processor.
1. One of my favorite uses for a food processor is making soup when I’ve had a hard day. Some chopped onion, garlic, milk, a bit of flour, chicken broth, broccoli, cheese, and pepper can be easily put together to make an excellent meal. After sautéing the onions and garlic, add all ingredients except milk and flour and cheese, cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes. Afterward, combine with milk and flour and cook an additional 5 minutes, then let cool while adding cheese until it melts. Place in a food processor, and you have smooth, creamy broccoli-cheese soup that can relieve any stress-filled day.
2. Make steak sandwiches by chilling, but not freezing, leftover steak in the freezer until firm but not frozen. Slice with your processor and then add to a skillet in which you have been sautéing bell peppers and onions. Put it all on a sandwich bun, top with jack cheese, and enjoy. I know, who has leftover steak? Plan for this and throw an extra steak or two on the grill next time.
3. Another great idea is to take blackberries and sugar, blending them with your food processor until they’re smooth. Then, pour the mixture through a strainer into a pan and stir in some buttermilk. When frozen, break into chucks and beat with an electric mixer until smooth again, and then pour it back into a pan and cover it until firm. This is a great way to make a cold, berry concoction that the whole family will love, especially on hot summer days. And you can substitute blueberries or raspberries as well!
4. Dips are also easy to make in a food processor. For a good healthy dip, combine a couple cups of cooked edamame, half a cup of water, a quarter cup chopped red onion, a bit of fresh cilantro, a couple tablespoons of rice vinegar, one tablespoon olive oil, and half a teaspoon of salt, a bit of chili garlic sauce, and a can of cannelloni beans. Once processed until smooth, this dip can be served immediately or placed in a refrigerator to chill. Over the years, this dip has become the most important food substance at any of my parties.
5. My 14 cup processor will hold an 18.5 ounce cake mix. I can have the cake ready to bake in less time than it takes me to haul my big mixer out and find the correct beater.
6. With some rice crackers, I can make a finely chopped crumb mixture to add to ground turkey, ground pork, onions, hoisin sauce, bell peppers, ginger, soy sauce, and other ingredients. With a little imagination, not to mention a couple of eggs and some salt, I can form meat loaves with their own unique flavors and bake them to perfection.
7. I always use my processor to make pie dough. I even chill the bowl and blade in the freezer to help keep my dough chilled and flaky.
8. You can make your own peanut butter or any other nut butter that you like in your processor. Cashews make wonderful nut butter too.
9. For fresh lemon sherbet, mix equal amounts sugar, milk, and half-and-half with freshly grated lemon rind and some lemon juice. Then pour into a pan and freeze it, covering it for at least two hours. After frozen, use your food processor to blend it until smooth. Four hours in the freezer later, you have a wonderful dessert to go with anything you can cook up!
10. Peanut butter cookies, the easiest recipe in the world: 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup peanut butter, and a teaspoon of vanilla if desired. Toss them into your processor; give it a whirl for a few seconds until well mixed. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and scrap it on the side of the bowl to even the spoon, drop onto a cookie sheet and smash it down with a fork to make the cross hatch design. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes and you have fabulous, gluten free peanut butter cookies.
And there we have it – 10 great reasons why you will absolutely love having a food processor. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend purchasing one and using it as a main staple in your kitchen. And after a few years, you’ll have your own top 10 list of recipes.
About the Author:
As a chef, Rodger Haroar has used many different kitchen appliances. And, as it happens with most constantly used equipment, replacement restaurant equipment parts like commercial kitchen equipment parts and Meat slicer parts are often needed. Rodger shops for replacement parts at National Band Saw, knowing that he can get Hobart parts, Biro meat grinder parts, and Berkel slicer parts for less.
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