When my in-laws were here early this month they gave me a food processor for a present. As much as I don't like most gadgets because they just clutter up my kitchen, I WAS pretty excited to get this one. I was looking forward to being able to easily process a bunch of zucchini and other garden produce.Unfortunately the first one didn't work, so Sharyl took it back but then they were out, but they left a gift card for the amount and Walmart got them back in stock and now I have it! I am enjoying it and we have put it to work pretty heavily already.
We are blessed to have cabbage and carrots from our garden so I made coleslaw (minus the sweet dressing which I don't care for) for lunch one day. It was just the kids and I and I used 1/2 a nice size head of cabbage, 1/2 an onion and several carrots and we almost ate all of it up! Jonathan just ate and ate! It is so nice to have something that can do all of that grating in just a few minutes!
I also made a carrot cake "just because" (maybe just because I had a new food processor) which is Ken's favorite. I don't usually make them much besides Ken's birthday because of the grating involved but now that isn't an issue.
Something else I tried it for was to make smoothies. I wanted to try a green smoothie recipe I had seen as I had a bunch of spinach to use up. I don't think it works quite as well as a blender would (There were kind of chunks) but it was all right. The kids were very sceptical when they first saw it but I was so happy with them because all 3 of the older ones tried it and declared it to be "Very Good!". Megan wasn't quite so easy. She declared "I don't want to like it!" and she stuck with that thought the whole time she drank hers.
Anyway, for this Homemaker who is very leery of new appliances - I really like it! Thank you Terry and Sharyl!
Just for interest sake I thought I would list the appliances that I have in my kitchen and then I thought it would be interesting if you would share the ones you think are essential.
I have and use:
- Fridge
- Stove
- Dishwasher
- Microwave (hey, I would love to hear your opinions on this, I have heard negative and am trying to reduce my use of it, but I would find it very hard to go without all together.)
- Toaster
- Wheat Grinder (another gift from Ken's family and one I use all the time! I think it is a great investment.)
- Hand-held Mixer. (I had a counter one at one time but I prefer the smallness- it can fit in a drawer- of the hand-held)
- Hand-held blender
- And now Food processor
Updated to add that I do also have a crockpot and popcorn popper that I use quite a bit and an electric skillet, waffle Iron and Warming tray that I use rarely.
I found something else I want to use my food processor for: Dried Apples (I would use the processor for the slicing part). My friend Emily was telling me how she did them and the look and sound yummy! Oh I do own a dehydrator too but most of the time it stays out on a shelf in the garage.
I feel the same way you do about appliances. We have a fridge, dishwasher, stove, crockpot (2 actually, couldn't live without them...good food, easy to use and uses less energy!) hand held mixer and microwave.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed things about the microwave. It takes less time and uses less energy then conventional cooking so those are good things. I never microwave plastic and use it for almost every meal. I'm going to go with "Ignorance is bliss" and not look it up :).
I do want to get a food processor and possibly a bread machine if I can find one at Goodwill and find a place to put it. I'll have a little one eating baby food next year and those two things help a lot with making all those pureed veggied and zwiback tost!
Hi! Thanks for the comments! Welding is surprisingly easy! Just make sure you don't wear old shoes and end up with hot metal trapped in your sneakers like I did! My fiance and I just bought a new house and I'm getting the kitchen all organized for when I move in after we get married. It's hard to find places to hide all the stuff that goes in a kitchen! I've got gadgets that I don't even understand their function!
ReplyDeleteMy Husband got me a Old Food processor @ goodwill from back in the 60's , its sturdy and readily helpful. I love it. I don't have a mixer , so I mix my bread doughs in my food processor !! I use my FP for so many things , I love shredding cheese , and I love getting cabbage on sale now.
ReplyDeleteI have moderate arthritis and find that certain appliaces a great help when my hands are stiff and sore. The food processer is a favorite for chopping or grating. I regularly cook for seven or more so the batches of food are pretty large. My other great help is a kitchenaid mixer. Since kneeding dough or mixing double batches of cookie dough is something I can't do by hand the kitchenaid helps me out. One thing I've thought about is a smoker. My husband is a deer hunter and occasional fisherman and I'd like to be able to smoke some of his catch. Does anyone else know which smoker works best?
ReplyDeleteMy list is a little longer. because of my love for coffee. :) but I would be happy to get rid of the dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteWhat thoughtful in-laws to give you a gift you needed and will use instead of a knick-knack. I use the same appliaces as you with the addition of my crockpot and blender. I do occasionally use the fryer we got for our wedding nearly 14 years ago. I don't have a hand held mixer or hand held blender. Mine are both the large appliances. My mixer is a KitchenAid and I have the juicing attachment which is invaluable to me when I have mountains of tomatoes to process. I sometimes think I have too many appliances, and know that I could do without most of them. However, I am grateful that God has blessed us with what we have and that many save me time.
ReplyDeleteThe food processor also makes great homemade potato chips...or fries. It slices a small potato in seconds. Then toss with olive oil and salt and bake in oven until golden and however crispy you like them. Sooo good! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody for the ideas and the comments! I really enjoy reading all of your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI use all the time and really love:
ReplyDelete-my stove and fridge!!!
-grain grinder
-dishwasher
-crock pot (a big 7 quart one is the best)
-dehydrator
-blender- use it every day
-toaster oven (to avoid the microwave, which we do not own, I highly recommend this to replace microwaves and toasters all in one, we do not have a regular toaster)
-pop corn popper
I have a few other things but I don't use them all the time so they don't get to be in the kitchen. They include a old fininicky food processor, waffle iron, hand held mixer.
I WISH I had: a hand held blender in addition to my regular one, a bigger dehydrator, a better food processor, and coffee grinder for nuts, seeds and herbs (not coffee) and a juicer.