Food Processor

RedfootDaddy
RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
My wife surprised me for my birthday with a food processor! A real one, not the rinky-dink two-cup thing we have now. I'm so excited! I'm planning to give it a whirl (har har) this weekend with a batch of fresh salsa, but I'm looking for recipes, idea, and inspiration!

Tomatillo salsa is definitely on the menu when they come in season, and I'll be definitely making hummus as well. I use the Budget Bytes recipe, with roasted red pepper (so good omg).
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Replies

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    You might like falafel. I use my food processor for that.
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    The shredding attachment that comes with your food processor is your best friend for preparing large quantities of shredded anything. I used to use it almost daily to add shredded carrots to my salad, shred zucchini for breads and cakes, shred apples, etc. Man I miss that thing!!
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Carrot salad and cole slaws of various types. I render leftover baked chicken into chicken salad, as well as buzzing up celery and other crunchy things for tuna salad. You're already onto the salsa train for all variations, LOL, as well as hummus, guacamole, gazpacho. Also in the Spanish vein, I'm going to try making a sofrito tomorrow (first time) with the FP, as I attempt "arroz con gandules" ("rice with pigeon peas") - a dish I had in the BVIs last month. Many of my homemade tomato sauce variants include finely chopped veggies - but I usually just grab a can of crushed or diced tomatoes as the base rather than processing them. I finely chop a big pile of mushrooms as a moistener/filler/binder for turkey meatloaf (see http://www.inspiredtaste.net/21535/unbelievably-moist-turkey-meatloaf-recipe/). FP also often used where the processed items aren't THE recipe, but recipe ingredients. And so forth ...

    I usually do a no-knead style bread myself, but most processors have the ability to knead up a good dough ball - for instance, in making your own healthy pizza (dough from scratch, sauce from scratch, sliced veggies for toppings, all in the FP; I suppose you could also shred cheese with the right blade/disk). Once you bake your own bread, seeing how easy and clean/healthy it can be, going back to commercial is tough.

    Good luck and happy processing...

    PS ... keep the little one for chopping up fresh herbs (although some herbs fare better with knives more than machines), small items like shallots, etc.

    While my trusty old Cuisinart has machine-washable bowl/feedtube parts, I have never trusted them to the dishwasher (replacements are expensive), so there are times when the washup effort deters me from using the machine rather than a knife and cutting board. I have a little one myself from some forgotten Christmas for odds-and-ends processing. I use my bigger FP a couple times a week, varying, and have talked to other folks that use theirs nearly daily, for all sorts of things. I use a standard blender nearly daily for smoothies, and a stick blender for things like smooth sauces and soups; I don't think a food processor replaces them, although there is some overlap.
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
    @Hungry_Shopgirl :O What do you use shredded apples for? Baking? Salads? My tortoise would like that . . .

    @mjbnj0001 Thank you so much! I do make my own bread but I knead it by hand (I actually really enjoy that part of the process), maybe I will have to try it in the FP! I was planning on tossing the little guy, but you're right, it would be better for herbs and garlic and small things.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,285 Member
    I don't own a blender; my food processor does double duty. And a pretty good job at pureeing soups, but it needs to be done in batches. If your bowl doesn't have a fill-line level for liquids, experiment a bit, but I think if it's more than 1/4 to 1/3 full, you're risking leakage.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    My wife surprised me for my birthday with a food processor! A real one, not the rinky-dink two-cup thing we have now. I'm so excited! I'm planning to give it a whirl (har har) this weekend with a batch of fresh salsa, but I'm looking for recipes, idea, and inspiration!

    Tomatillo salsa is definitely on the menu when they come in season, and I'll be definitely making hummus as well. I use the Budget Bytes recipe, with roasted red pepper (so good omg).

    The down side of dieting is that I've become much more of a foodie.
    There are so many new things I want to try and good leftovers in the freezer, but I must wait since I don't have room in my meal plan :# .
  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    Look up "egg roll in a bowl." It's like the inner part of an egg roll but no wrapper or deep frying. You can put in anything from sausage to ground chicken for the meat, depending on what calories you want in it. I use a food processor to cut the veggies for it (and I add some additional veggies the recipes don't usually call for.)
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    @Hungry_Shopgirl :O What do you use shredded apples for? Baking? Salads? My tortoise would like that . . .

    @mjbnj0001 Thank you so much! I do make my own bread but I knead it by hand (I actually really enjoy that part of the process), maybe I will have to try it in the FP! I was planning on tossing the little guy, but you're right, it would be better for herbs and garlic and small things.

    you're welcome. your tortoise comment is timely ... just before posting on mfp last evening, i was watching youtube on sofrito and arroz con gandules. one of the sofrito videos (have to check which one, came up number 1 or 2 on "sofrito" search for me) had the chef saying she saves her green pepper seed cores for her tortoise as a treat.

    i see you like kneading; i usually don't have the patience or time to do it justice. i usually follow or modify techniques from artisanbreadwithstev channel on youtube for no-knead approaches.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Theo166 wrote: »

    The down side of dieting is that I've become much more of a foodie.
    There are so many new things I want to try and good leftovers in the freezer, but I must wait since I don't have room in my meal plan :# .

    So true, LOL! I have come to believe that eating better, and thinking about your food and food planning, makes you appreciate it more while reducing mindless face-stuffing. The ancient Greeks said it, "food is medicine," so I think that this later-in-life kitchen activity I'm practicing is my "graduate school as 'Doctor of Food'," LOL!
  • Gemini61454
    Gemini61454 Posts: 85 Member
    Make your own peanut butter, no salt, no sugar or sweetener, if you like :)

    Banana ice cream (tons of recipes out there) use frozen bananas for an instant dessert! No additional sweetener is necessary!
  • kikicooks
    kikicooks Posts: 1,079 Member
    Make your own peanut butter, no salt, no sugar or sweetener, if you like :)

    Banana ice cream (tons of recipes out there) use frozen bananas for an instant dessert! No additional sweetener is necessary!

    I do both of these! But I do add honey to my banana ice cream and add a pinch of salt to my peanut and almond butter. Hummus and pesto sauce are the other things I make most often with my food processor. I also use it to make oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes so the oatmeal gets ground up almost to a flour first.
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
    mjbnj0001 wrote: »
    you're welcome. your tortoise comment is timely ... just before posting on mfp last evening, i was watching youtube on sofrito and arroz con gandules. one of the sofrito videos (have to check which one, came up number 1 or 2 on "sofrito" search for me) had the chef saying she saves her green pepper seed cores for her tortoise as a treat.

    Having a tortoise is a great way to keep greens in the house. She eats lettuce, dark leafy greens, eggs, fruit, and some veg like mushrooms and squash (she doesn't like carrots and throws some serious sass when I try to feed them to her).
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I use my food processor for lots of things. We love to make sweet potato hash for breakfast, so I use it to shred the sweet potatoes. I also use it for pesto.
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
    It's here! I've named him Roberto:


    I sliced and shredded everything for ham and cheese scalloped potatoes in under 15 minutes. I'm in love.
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    @Hungry_Shopgirl :O What do you use shredded apples for? Baking? Salads?

    Apple chips :-)
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,062 Member
    Hi! I took my own advice to you today, and made a nice, healthy tuna salad bowl using my little FP. The big Cuisinart might get used for dinner tonight, once I figure out what's on the menu, LOL. Probably having this conversation this week brought the little machine to the top of my brain again.

    Buzzed up the veggies (celery, red onion, green pepper), sliced a handful of grape tomatoes by hand, tossed in a 12oz can of tuna, added EVOO and lemon juice, dill and parsley, seasoning. Prep and cleanup in about 10 minutes, including dithering over adding the green peppers (cubanelles I had gotten to make sofrito this week).

    It's a reasonably healthy lunch: MFP tells me 268 cals, 40g protein, 9g fat, 3g fiber, 7g sugar. Saved half the batch for another lunch. Both big and little food processors make quick work of prepping a wide range of good meals.

    Happy processing!
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
    Oooo tuna salad! I might have to make that for my wife. Her 'recipe' is just a can of tuna, a small spoonful of relish, and a big spoonful of mayo. But if I can stuff some more veg in there . . .

    I made a 3-cup batch of salsa for our zoo trip on Saturday, and my wife and my mom went through two cups of it in one sitting! Definitely a hit.
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,113 Member
    The shredding attachment that comes with your food processor is your best friend for preparing large quantities of shredded anything. I used to use it almost daily to add shredded carrots to my salad, shred zucchini for breads and cakes, shred apples, etc. Man I miss that thing!!

    This is so true! I love to shred carrots, onion and celery and add them all sorts of dishes - especially love to sauté them up and cook with rice.

  • susanp57
    susanp57 Posts: 409 Member
    Hummus. Hummus, Hummus, Hummus.
  • vkr2q7
    vkr2q7 Posts: 68 Member
    susanp57 wrote: »
    Hummus. Hummus, Hummus, Hummus.
    Just came here to say this! I make an unacceptable amount of hummus in my food processor for one person.