Today I’ve got a special treat for you all; I’ve traded guest posts with Carolina over at A Butterful Mind! I’m over on her page today writing about the ‘Meal Prep Power Hour’, and Carolina is here, talking to you guys about the incredible food processor, and why every busy cook needs one in their kitchen. I love her post below; my food processor is one of my most treasured items in my kitchen and I depend on it for so much! Enjoy Carolina’s post below and check out her site when you get a chance!

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Hey there! I’m Carolina from the food and kitchen blog A Butterful Mind and I’m a guest on Percolate Kitchen today. My journey into the home cook world began soon after I married and long after eating one too many boxes of mac and cheese. I gradually grew my kitchen arsenal and now I’m sharing five reasons why you need a food processor!

I held off from buying a food processor forever. I never even registered for one when I got married. Opportunity missed, I know. The truth is I didn’t really see the value in one. What can it do that a blender or a good knife can’t?

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READ: 9 Best Quick and Easy Cookbooks Every Working Parent Needs

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Then one day a friend came over to my kitchen with her processor and made hummus. When I saw the way it worked I realized that it WAS different than a blender. Intrigued, I began to look up what else it could make besides just hummus. Eventually, I bought one and gave it a home on my precious countertop.

Here are five reasons why YOU need a food processor:

1. Grinding solid food. The sharp serrated blades grind down solid food in a snap even without adding liquid. This is ideal for textured thick dips, nut butter, or doughs that are NOT liquid. A blender is meant for combining liquids with solids to create a completely liquid substance, like smoothies, so you wouldn’t want to use that on something like a minced onion.
2. Pesto loves a processor. I’ve tried using a blender for pestos but usually, the blades of a blender aren’t quite sharp enough for shredding delicate leaves. Sounds funny, but you need really sharp blades or else the leaves just spin around and around without getting much of a chop. A food processor whips around so fast and with sharp enough blades that it catches the leaves and can shred them into the tiniest pieces – perfect for a basil pine nut pesto!
3. It’s a time saver, seriously. Imagine throwing together several ingredients at once, pulsing them a few times, and BAM – recipe complete. Whether you’d be chopping, crumbling, or mixing by hand, a food processor saves you time by doing those tasks quickly and effortlessly. I’m a busy mom, guys. This reason alone is worth your consideration.
4. Pie crust has never been easier. Maybe you haven’t gone all out “Martha Stewart” yet but if you’ve thought about giving homemade pie crust a whirl, let me save you the trouble of doing it strictly by hand and insist you use a food processor for it. Pastry dough, whether you’re using chilled butter or shortening, gets sticky. Literally. Using a food processor to quickly combine your ingredients before the chill wears off makes a potentially time-wasting mess a non-issue.
5. Multiple jobs with easy cleanup. Most food processors come with a couple different blades that perform different jobs. Go beyond pureeing and easily slice whole onions into strips and grate carrots! A whole dinner can be prepped with this one appliance and then tossed into the dishwasher. Easy-as-pie.

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READ: The 5 Must-Have Gadgets for Your Kitchen Arsenal

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As a busy mom, I need help in the kitchen wherever I can find it. But I also want to enjoy the role of home cook without sacrificing time and effort. That’s what makes this kitchen appliance valuable to me. Whipping up deliciousness without a fancy restaurant price tag is an added bonus!

Keep the blender but try out a food processor. The kitchen appliance world is a fascinating place to explore. If you’re new at the whole kitchen thing, fear not! Have a look at what every home cook needs to know.

About Caroline:

Carolina Weick is the creator of A Butterful Mind, a food blog with step by step recipes and kitchen tips. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two kids and is all about the local food scene in Charleston. She’s a goofball, loves Jesus, and hates chocolate.