How to Save Cooking Time with a Food Processor

Could a food processor do as good a job as my trusty chefs knife for prepping vegetables? Indeed it did a great job! Here’s how I used it to make stir fry.

Using the deadly prongs in the corner of this special cutting board, I skewered the onion so I could quarter it with my left hand (because my right chopping arm was incapacitated after shoulder surgery!) And then I quartered the remaining vegetables.

The slicing blade turned the onion quarters into nice, thin slices in about 10 seconds! Ditto for about a half dozen cremini mushrooms.

NOTE: A Time-Saving Advantage  Because the food processor slices the vegetables so thinly, they cook much faster than hand-sliced vegetables. In fact, be sure to watch them closely!

Once I got the onions and mushrooms frying, I zipped the yellow squash and red pepper through the slicing blade and added them, plus a few sliced almonds.

Before serving, I added some cooked, cubed chicken and topped with San-J Hoisin Sauce. Done just that quick!

NOTES

When and How to Use Seed Oils: This is a recipe where I used 1 Tablespoon of safflower oil to stir fry because I was going to top it with an Asian sauce–which pairs better with a neutral oil–plus it can handle the high heat of stir frying without smoking. Note, however, it’s not the end of the world if you use olive oil, just plan on sauteing over medium heat rather than stir frying. (See previous post, “Are Seed Oils Bad for You?“)

One Food Processor Downside There are all the processor parts to wash afterwards rather than just a single knife! A couple ways to minimize: 1) Just rinse the processor parts, but do so right after use before food gets stuck on; 2) Pop them all in the dishwasher; or 3) Reserve the processor for dishes that require a lot of sliced vegetables

Multiple Dishes  Better yet, after using the processor for one dish, prep the vegetables for another dish! Here I prepped and stored the veggies for a quick kale lunch and a wrap made with Food for Life brown rice tortillas.