New Toy

I love new kitchen toys. This one is actually to replace an "old friend" who is about 23 years old, has been loyal for the past 7 years and has moved 6 times. It will soon be moving again to help bring joy to another household. I am so excited to introduce you to my new Food processor! Check out this beauty.
Are you done laughing yet? I know, no fancy stainless steel and it's easily over 20 years old. And yes, this is an upgrade for me. What I love most about this one is it's faux wood panel at the controls. It might look dark brown to you but in person it's wood grain. It cracks me up. We recently went to goodwill and I found it for $3.99. It's double the size of my old one which we have out grown and totally works great. My husband on the other hand thought I was a little crazy due to how old it is, much louder it is and it isn't very modern. Here's my theory though. I love older kitchen appliances at goodwill because chances are some one donated them because they upgraded themselves to a "prettier" one. There's nothing wrong with this one and since it's so old, I am guessing it was built and made much better before things started getting cheap.

If you don't own one, I'm not suggesting you go out and buy one, however, if you have wanted one and not sure if you would really like it then check out your goodwill or local thrift store and pick one up for a few bucks and try it out before you make a serious commitment. (Anything over $20 is a serious commitment to me).

I especially love my food processor during canning time when I am trying to puree large batches of spaghetti sauce or tomatoes before cooking down. That's when my $4 investment is going to turn priceless.

Here are a few tips on how to choose a food processor - besides looking at the $3.99 price tag.

1. Think about the size you will need. If you are cooking for two, consider a 3-4 cup model. If you have a large family, cook for the masses or do huge volumes of canning consider a 7 cup model.
2. What shortcuts would you like it to help you with? Models can come with extra blades which can include shredding, slicing, chopping or a dough blade.
3. Compare special features. This may include extra bowls or lids, warranties, speed controls, pulsing option, juicing or mini bowls.
4. Make sure parts are dishwasher safe. This will save you time again buy not having to wash it by hand.
5. Double check the warranty to see what it covers and make sure you can buy replacement parts later just in case an accident happens.
6. I can't resist- check for a sale or coupon.

Anyone have any clever uses for their food processor? I'd love to hear what you use yours for.

Find out what other people are saying about thrift stores and other frugal ideas.

Check out the rest of this week's blog entries to find more quick and easy recipes and gardening tips.