Food processor...who knew?

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suruda
suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Mine has been sitting in my cupboard for years and brought out on rare occasions! My husband is a former chef who strongly opposes any kitchen "gadgets"...he believes all you need is a good knife!

Today I decided to make chicken lettuce wraps and homemade teriyaki sauce. I decided to sub some diced pineapple for some of the sugar in the teriyaki sauce...out came the food processor to crush it. Then I thought I'd rather have ground chicken, so in went the 2 chicken breasts I had out...boom, took about 2 seconds to grind them up.

THEN...the onion going in the lettuce wraps went in for a fine dice...not quite pulverized. it all saved me about 10 minutes of dicing, chopping, etc...even with our awesome knives.

Since it is all getting cooked together...didn't even rinse in between uses. Now I might have to tell my mother that it is awesome...something she has been trying to convince me of for years!

The lettuce wraps are also going to have, mushrooms, celery, and some yellow zucchini...sautee all of it and then add teriyaki sauce and let it reduce. Serve in lettuce cups...it is delicious and low cal as it can be stretched with tons of veggies!

Replies

  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    The food processor has lots of good uses -- as does a good chef's knife. Why not enjoy the uses of both? I'd hate to try to make my homemade breakfast falafel without the food processor although I'm sure thousands have done it with a mortar and pestle for centuries. Some may make a dam of flour and carefully incorporate the eggs but my pasta dough is made in the food processor in seconds. Does he really think all those chefs in fine restaurants make pesto with a knife? C'mon ...
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Um. Can you send me some of that filling minus the zucchini?
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Yeah I would like that recipe also. Also I might take that theory and make a pork larb like I like it from the Thai place...mmm...
  • NotQuiteNorm
    NotQuiteNorm Posts: 283 Member
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    Bump - sounds yummy! Can you pm it to me suruda!? :D
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
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    I like food processors too BUT: they take up quite a bit more counter space than just another knife in the block and they're a pain in the neck to clean.
  • BigLifter10
    BigLifter10 Posts: 1,151 Member
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    I know!!! When I finally broke down and bought a Vitamix - my life changed! Best of all is the easy clean-up! I can't even begin to say how many things I've made in that thing. Kale is great when you can turn it into liquid! LOL! Some things are just simply worth it.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Yeah I would like that recipe also. Also I might take that theory and make a pork larb like I like it from the Thai place...mmm...

    Oh no, I don't want the recipe. I want her to physically bring me some.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    hubby and I use a food processor for lots of things. It works better for our smoothies than the blender does because I don't have to keep stopping and mashing the frozen fruit down with a spatula.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    My food processor broke. I know I don't need one but I used it often. I will get a replacement someday.
  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
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    oooooh, Pork larb, yum! I've even looked that one up and haven't made it...

    OK, here is all I do for lettuce wraps. for those of you who like exact recipes, I tried, but I truly throw in whatever veggies I have. this is the basic start:

    coat sautee pan with olive oil...2 TB and sautee over medium heat the following:

    1 lb ground (or super finely diced) Turkey
    1 finely diced onion
    4 finely sliced celery stalks (for crunch...you could also use water chesnuts or any other veggie that stays crunchy)
    2 cups finely chopped mushrooms (my favorite so they go in)

    Add garlic, ginger, salt and pepper to season
    add Teriyaki sauce of your choice to coat

    Reduce to simmer and cook until sauce has reduced to a glaze.

    Serve in lettuce cups...good topped with diced green onions or chopped nuts (I skip those for calorie reasons usually)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    As an avid cook, there's something very therapeutic for me in chopping things by hand...but I do use my food processor often when I'm doing large batches of things like slaws, cucumber salad, etc. For the most part I'm just slicing and dicing a few veggies for my wife and I and prefer my good knives; but I'm not so inclined to thinly slice an entire head of cabbage for a cole slaw, etc.
  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
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    Thank you for the recipe! and yes, I LOVE my food processor. I worked as a sous chef in a kitchen and we used ours for everything there. My husband bought me one two years ago and I shoved it up in my closet only using it occasionally. I have finally just decided to make a permanent space for it on my kitchen counter. I use it for everything. My favorite use is making cauliflower "rice", hummus, homemade nut butters, shredding veggies & cheese, ect.
    peter56765 wrote: »
    I like food processors too BUT: they take up quite a bit more counter space than just another knife in the block and they're a pain in the neck to clean.
    ^^^ I totally agree with this though. They are a b!tch to clean ha ha
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    peter56765 wrote: »
    I like food processors too BUT: they take up quite a bit more counter space than just another knife in the block and they're a pain in the neck to clean.

    This is how I feel, but I really should use mine more.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    I'm a 'good sharp knife' cook. I usually only use my food processor for hummus. The knife just doesn't work as well for that.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I'm in the ... the knife is good for some things, the food processor for others camp. Anything that's done in big batches that needs to be shredded goes through the food processor.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    I was so happy making my "Italian stew" (very hearty tomato sauce with tons of veggies). I used the vegetable peeler /noodle cutter thing for zucchini. The food processor is so much faster!
  • jetortola
    jetortola Posts: 198 Member
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    That sounds DELISH!
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    I'm a 'good sharp knife' cook. I usually only use my food processor for hummus. The knife just doesn't work as well for that.

    ^ This.

    I use mine for dips (well, now I use my nutribullet, as it makes my hummus crazy smooth, and also for milling oats or almonds into flour). Also works well for black bean brownies. Basically like a powerful blender -- not as a slice and dice.
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    I bought a Blendtec last year and would consider it one of the best investments I did in my whole life! There is so much you can do with it besides smoothies. From ice cream, hummus, almond butter...to facial creams. I love it!
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I don't trust myself with a knife at all but I do love my food processor. I use it almost every time I cook meals, which I usually only do once or twice a week in big batches.

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