New Kitchen Equipment Part 2: Food Processor

I have been wanting a food processor for around 3 years, ever since I graduated from college and the free time left me getting more creative with cooking. A lot of recipes I found sounded perfect, until I got to the step in the directions that said "put it in your food processor..." This was the case for a lot of veggie burgers, pasta recipes, pastries and more. I had to ignore those recipes after finding that my work arounds of trying to cut things up really small just created a mess of really small pieces of food.

Over the years, I've built up a collection of recipes that don't require fancy equipment and most of them are great, but I was always missing some things. As our wedding got closer and the reality of maybe getting a food processor also got closer, I started saving some of those recipes I found. We didn't get the food processor as a gift, but it was the first thing we planned to purchase with wedding money.

Now that we have it, I'm bound and determined to use it all of the time and try out the many recipes that failed without one. Luckily we have room on our counter to leave it out, because this thing is extremely heavy.

The first time we used it, we made a version of pesto. I was loosely following this pasta salad recipe, but wanted to make a pesto instead of just wilting the arugula into the warm pasta. I was nervous that the food processor wouldnt be able to handle a whole bag of arugula with a bunch of walnuts, but it only took a few seconds for it to be obliterated. We added the remaining ingredients: garlic, feta cheese, some basil and olive oil. The pesto was done in no time and was delicious!

We also used it to make the white bean and ricotta sauce for this veggie lasagna/layered veggie bake, which made enough for SEVERAL meals:

Truth be told, we've been using it a lot and many recipes you see us make will involve a food processor from now one. With me starting grad school next Tuesday, anything that makes cooking easier is welcomed. Also, anything with a large motor and sharp blade that makes Aaron more interested in cooking is extremely helpful, as he is going to become our new chef while I spend my time studying statistics!