Food Processor/Grinder/Chopper

[mom3sonstt]

Now that the weather is turning cooler I am ready to break out the crock pot again. When I was a kid after finishing off a roast mom would grind up the rest of it into a sandwich spread - like ham salad...did the same with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. Basically, just about any meat that was "leftovers" was turned into a sandwich spread. She had a meat grinder that you clamp on to the edge of the counter and turn the crank. I have one of those too.....but I don't have anything to clamp it on to. She had a cutting board that you pulled out like a drawer that she would clamp on to....I don't have one of those. I have a snack bar but it has a curved lip on top and a narrow trim on the bottom so no matter how many things I try to slide between the clamps it doesn't hold snug enough to use. Every year I look around at the various flat surfaces in my house to see if there is something that I have overlooked before. Now I am thinking maybe I need to get a food processor. I do not want to spend a fortune on one, but I do want one powerful enough to cut through meat. I am thinking that doing this would stretch the leftovers into some sandwiches for lunch. But buying a real expensive appliance to do so would be counter-productive.

I am also thinking if I had one with a good enough motor I could use it for my garlic cheese dip too. It's velveeta cheese and cream cheese and if I have burnt up the motor on a hand mixer trying to blend them. And an actual blender....it just clumps together in the bottom and is a real hassle to get out...and you lose quite a bit of it.

Any suggestions for fairly inexpensive, decent quality food processor for these needs???

 

[arminnie]

I went through a bunch of food processors - they would burn out in about a year before I finally broke down and got a Cuisinart. It is still working about 20 years later!

If you want a strong reliable motor Cuisinart is great.

I also use mine for mixing very stiff cookies dough (like shortbread). It does a better job than my stand Kitchenaid mixer.

 

[An_Island_Girl]

My parents use a kitchen chair to clamp their grinder to. I'm not sure if it would work for you at all?

 

[Gigi22]

OP, sounds like your mom had the same type of grinder as my mom! I remember her making roast beef hash with it too. That said, you do need something quite sturdy and flat to clamp it to. Just a thought--do you have an old wooden kids' table and chairs set? I have one, and I think I could clamp an old-style meat grinder to the table. It would be the wrong height to work at, but you could move it to a more comfortable height.

Failing which--get a Cuisinart. The small metal blade will chop up both raw and cooked meat.

 

[mom3sonstt]

My parents use a kitchen chair to clamp their grinder to. I'm not sure if it would work for you at all?

no - our chairs are vinyl cushioned with a solid back...so they don't work either. Neither does our snack bar, kitchen table, tv trays.....even the rail on our outdoor deck. So far no luck finding anything.

OP, sounds like your mom had the same type of grinder as my mom! I remember her making roast beef hash with it too. That said, you do need something quite sturdy and flat to clamp it to. Just a thought--do you have an old wooden kids' table and chairs set? I have one, and I think I could clamp an old-style meat grinder to the table. It would be the wrong height to work at, but you could move it to a more comfortable height.

Failing which--get a Cuisinart. The small metal blade will chop up both raw and cooked meat.

No kids table and chairs. have thought about my desk....it might work...seems like it would clamp on to itbut its in my bedroom at the other end of the house. It's also a cheap one from staples so I don't know if it would withstand the pressure of the grinding. Maybe I'll try it someday on something soft.


Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cuisenart too.