Tell me about your non-complex Food Processor

[Marshay]

Last Christmas I got a FP. I tried making one dish but after seeing all the bizillion parts and not really understanding where everything goes, I gave up and returned it.

I'm finding myself again, wanting a food processor but unsure which one would be good for me.

Background
(1) I enjoy cooking when I have the time but am not a foodie, so nothing complex/advanced for me.
(2) I also need something that is very easily cleaned with not a lot of parts ... preferably by putting in the dishwasher.
(3) We entertain probably 7 or 8 times a year for family and some friends. I currently just use my Magic Bullet or a Standard Mixer whenever I need to mix/chop things. However, I'd like something more powerful and larger.
(4) I don't want to spend a lot of money -- I figure if I get a good but cheaper one and use it a lot, then I could always ask Santa for a better one next year. However, if I get a cheaper one and it really doesn't work that well, then it'll turn me off of FP and I won't ever get one.

Any advice?

 

[Topper]

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

 

[Marshay]

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Do you love it? What do you primarily use it for?

Thanks!

 

[tinkermom23]

A ziploc baggie and a meat tenderizer hammer. (sometimes a rolling pin if I feel really adventurous.

 

[bellarella]

The one from Costco is the one I have too.

I use it primarily for slicing vegetables or grating cheese. I also use it for chopping nuts or making dough, but less frequently.

There are two tricks with this food processor:
1. You have to figure out how the slicing disks attach. That can take a couple of minutes, but once you've figured out how to line up the disk onto the stick, it's not a problem in the future.

2. The opening of food chute is large enough that they had to install a safety mechanism to keep people from putting their hand in it. This means if you have wide food that doesn't fit into the smaller tube-shaped opening, you need to cut it small enough that it will fit into the chute with room for the the feeder to engage the safety lock. I doubt this is specific to this machine -- pretty much any food processor larger than a mini I think has this issue.

I love having the food processor. Especially for onions, which I cook with a lot. Some dishes call for sliced onions, which means I just use the slicing disk. For times I need chopped onions, I first use the slicing disk, then dump out the onions, put in the chopping blade, dump the sliced onions in and pulse a few times.

I throw all the pieces into the dish washer and they come out great.

 

[disneyfreakk]

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=7106&CategoryID=46711

This one is fool proof! I mostly use it for chopping and grating cheese. And all parts are dish washer safe.

 

[Marshay]

A ziploc baggie and a meat tenderizer hammer. (sometimes a rolling pin if I feel really adventurous.

Believe me, this is what I did last night to crush my peppermint bark for my cookie recipe. But that bark is strong and took lots of muscles to "finely ground".

 

[Marshay]

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=7106&CategoryID=46711

This one is fool proof! I mostly use it for chopping and grating cheese. And all parts are dish washer safe.

Thanks! I will check this one out too! It's on sale, so pretty reasonable..

 

[DizneyDogs]

I just bought the Cuisinart 16 cup one that was regularly $545 at Williams Sonoma on sale for $199 (on their one day deal this past Saturday) plus it came with $40 to use at WS later. Anyway so far I love it! It comes with 3 different bowls the largest being the 16 cup one. It's really simple to use and very powerful. The only thing is it's really heavy so if you don't want it out all the time might need some musles to move it I have had cheapo food processors in the past but I wanted something that will last 20 years or more.

Here's the link - it's still on sale but no longer on the 1 day deal price
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod...CTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

 

[Pakey]

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=7106&CategoryID=46711

This one is fool proof! I mostly use it for chopping and grating cheese. And all parts are dish washer safe.

I use this one for making my dogs' food. It's very simple and easy to clean.

 

[Marshay]

The one from Costco is the one I have too.

I use it primarily for slicing vegetables or grating cheese. I also use it for chopping nuts or making dough, but less frequently.

There are two tricks with this food processor:
1. You have to figure out how the slicing disks attach. That can take a couple of minutes, but once you've figured out how to line up the disk onto the stick, it's not a problem in the future.

2. The opening of food chute is large enough that they had to install a safety mechanism to keep people from putting their hand in it. This means if you have wide food that doesn't fit into the smaller tube-shaped opening, you need to cut it small enough that it will fit into the chute with room for the the feeder to engage the safety lock. I doubt this is specific to this machine -- pretty much any food processor larger than a mini I think has this issue.

I love having the food processor. Especially for onions, which I cook with a lot. Some dishes call for sliced onions, which means I just use the slicing disk. For times I need chopped onions, I first use the slicing disk, then dump out the onions, put in the chopping blade, dump the sliced onions in and pulse a few times.

I throw all the pieces into the dish washer and they come out great.

Thanks! For me, this looks alittle more advanced than I want to go. So I really appreiciate you describing it to me.

I just bought the Cuisinart 16 cup one that was regularly $545 at Williams Sonoma on sale for $199 (on their one day deal this past Saturday) plus it came with $40 to use at WS later. Anyway so far I love it! It comes with 3 different bowls the largest being the 16 cup one. It's really simple to use and very powerful. The only thing is it's really heavy so if you don't want it out all the time might need some musles to move it I have had cheapo food processors in the past but I wanted something that will last 20 years or more.

Here's the link - it's still on sale but no longer on the 1 day deal price
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod...CTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

Thanks for sharing! I will check it out but this is certainly more advanced than I want to go right now. However, I will remember this for the future.

I'm thinking the Macy's one might be more my level right now...

 

[jmpellet]

This is the one I have from Macy's -- a bit cheaper than the other one. Pretty easy to use!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=136834&CategoryID=7560#fn=sp=1&spc=147

 

[Marshay]

This is the one I have from Macy's -- a bit cheaper than the other one. Pretty easy to use!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=136834&CategoryID=7560#fn=sp=1&spc=147

Thanks, too! I am busy reading up on reviews from everyone so having another option (esp cheaper!) is great.

Thanks so much everyone!

I think I will wait until after christmas now to give me time to review more.

 

[Marshay]

Just wanted to provide an update. I bought the Cuisinart DLC-8S Food Processor, 11-Cup Pro Custom from Macy's a few days ago and already really like it!

I was worried it was too big but after making one batch of Black-n-Blue Berry Muffins and a double batch of Salmon Cakes, I realize that is it perfect!

Cleanup is really easy, the mixing and chopping were a breeze!

I can't wait to try out more recipes!

Thanks everyone for offering your advice!

 

[floridascgirl]

Thanks for posting your question 'cause you just took all the leg work out of my next purchase! I think I'm going to get the same model that you did.

 

[Marshay]

Thanks for posting your question 'cause you just took all the leg work out of my next purchase! I think I'm going to get the same model that you did.

I had purchased one in the past and returned it after using it once...this one was much better!

Thanks go to the Dissers on here for steering me in the right direction!

I do suggest watching the DVD, if you are a visual person. After watching it, I felt more confident to do all the attachments and locking, etc. I also followed the recipe that the chef did on the DVD for crab cakes (but made mine salmon cakes and adding some dill). They were super easy to make and delicious.

Sure I could have made them all by hand, but it was more fun and quicker to do with the processor.

Good luck on your purchase and let us know!