Here are a few of my favorite recipes. I hope you will try them.
Frittata with Potatoes and Herbs
2 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes( sliced with slicing disc)
2 tblsp. butter
1/3 cup sliced green onions or shallots( or if you don’t want onions, leave them out)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 garlic cloves(minced or finely chopped in food processor)
5 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Place the peeled potatoes in a pan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Then drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a 10 or 12 inch OVEN SAFE skillet over a medium heat. Gently toss the potatoes with the herbs, onions and seasonings and add the misture to the skillet and saute for about 5 minutes. I like to have a little crust on some of my potatoes.
Mix together the eggs, milk and cheese.
Spread the potatoe mixture evenly in your heated skillet. Then pour the egg mixture over the potatoes.
Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until almost set. About 8 minutes or until almost set. The center should be somewhat loose.
Heat your broiler, I heat mine on low so as not to burn the eggs. Remember, you must have your mixture in an OVEN SAFE skillet. Cast iron is great for this.
Place the skillet under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. This cooks the frittata and browns nicely on the top. Add extra cheese on the top during the last few seconds of the broiler time.
This is a great quick dish. You can spice it up with salsa after it comes out of the broiler. Serve with a crispy, green salad. This is also good for breakfast and lunch. Leftovers can easily be reheated.
Minestrone with Pesto
Minestrone is a vegetable soup. You can use most any vegetables that you have in the refrigerator. You can also add small pastas. Do the chopping in the food processor. You do not need to clean the bowl after each chopping. Shred the parmesan cheese before chopping the veggies. It’s always good to have the parmesan cheese grated or shredded and stored in the refrigerator. It’s much cheaper to grate or shred the cheese at home, then to purchase it already done and you’ll get more!
6 1/2 cups of vegetable broth or water, or do a combination of each
3 tblsp. olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1-2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
3 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped. Or you can certainly use canned tomatoes with Italian seasonings. Your choice.
1/2 tsp. dried thyme or a fresh sprig
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup of peas, either fresh or frozen
2 cups of cannellini beans
salt and pepper to taste
Have ready freshly shredded or grated Parmesan cheese.
All of the chopping can be done in the food processor. Don’t do all the vegetables at the same time, but you do not have to wash the bowl between choppings. Be careful not to over process the veggies. You may also adjust the amounts and add or change any of the vegetables. That’s the great thing about minestrone.
In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onion and cook until soft.
Add the carrots, celery and garlic to the onion and cook over moderate heat . Stir several times.
Add the broth or water and stir well. Add the seasonings. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook 10-15 minutes more.
Next, stir in the peas and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a slow boil and then simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
Lastly, add the cannellini beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Ladle the soup into your favorite bowls and add a dollop of pesto on to soup. Then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Pesto
1 cup of good olive oil, preferably extra virgin
5 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
black pepper
If making the pesto in your food processor, chop the walnuts first so they will be ready. Remove them from the bowl. Then add the basil leaves, parsley, garlic cloves and process. As the motor is running, pour the olive oil thru the feed tube. Begin to pulse, so as not to over process. Then add the parmesan cheese, walnuts and pepper. Light pulse to blend. If you store this in the refrigerator, pour just a little olive oil on top. You can adjust this recipe to your personal taste, if you prefer.
My Favorite Pie Dough
I always make this in the food processor and I always use the steel blade, not the plastic dough blade. That’s my choice. This is the best pie dough. It’s so easy to handle and tastes so fresh, not like the cardboard store bought pie dough being sold in the grocery stores. Also, those in the store usually have partially hydrogenated oil in them. You should not be eating that! I believe Crisco now has hydro oil, also. I no longer use it–I use butter instead.
1/2 cup of ice water. I always put ice cubes in a measuring glass with water. Set aside.
1 cup of butter, cut into pieces
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp. salt
In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the steel blade, add the flour and salt. Pulse once to mix. Then add butter and process until the mix looks like crumbs. Begin processing and pour the ice water thru the feed tube. Process until the dough makes a ball and it should go around enough to “clean up” the sides of the bowl. If your dough is to sticky, add a little flour thru the feed tube. If it doesn’t form the ball, you may need to add a little more ice water. You will develope the right touch for this. Also, the humidity in your kitchen may affect how the flour processes. This only takes a few seconds. When the dough is ready, remove from the bowl, place on plastic wrap and press down with the palm of your hand to make a disc shape. Wrap and store in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill. Then you can roll out easily. Remember, if you have not worked with dough before, you may need to practice rolling the dough. This recipe can be doubled and it will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. Any dough scraps can be rolled, brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Kids love this!
The Best Peanut Butter
This is so easy and you do not have to worry about a recall!
Position the steel knife blade in the food processor bowl. Next add about 2 cups of peanuts. Remember not to use dry roasted. You can use salted or unsalted. Begin processing. It will be very loud, but as the peanuts begin to process down, you want to pay attention and decide if you want a little chunky or very smooth. It is your choice. If you think your peanut butter is a little dry, add a little veg oil during the process. Not to much, you don’t want oily peanut butter. Keep stored in the refrigerator.
Helpful Tips
Just remember to organize your food processing. Bowl washing is not necessary if you are processing several ingredients separately for the same recipe. Just think about the order of the ingredients.
There are alot of cookbooks available to help you get the most from your food processor. You can adapt any of your favorite recipes to being made in the food processor. I like cookbooks with lovely, color pictures. That always helps to see what the dish should look like.
One of my favorite food processor cookbooks is by General Electric titled”Cooking With A Food Processor“. Some of the pages fell out of my first copy and I was lucky enough to find a copy at a used book store. The pictures are great and I just used the recipes and adapted them to the Cuisinart, since the book was written for the G.E. Food Processor. It’s a fun book, also.
Remember, with a food processor you can chop, grate, slice, shred and mix. You can make baby food by processing vegetables down to a puree. You can chop meat and make your own hamburger. That way you will know exactly what cut of meat you are eating. No fillers.
Now you know why I love my Cuisinart Food processor. I hope that you will get one and love it, too!!