Is the Manual Food Processor by Pampered Chef worth the hype?

[BethCooks4U]

I made a chicken salad in the MFP and while it didn't like chopping the chicken (I had cubed it but it was still somewhat warm), it eventually did a good job of it. I added salt and mayo at the end and it did mix the mayo in well.

My thought process in adding it in the MFP is that I didn't want to dirty another bowl and I like the serving bowl to be "clean" - you know, just put the food in it, garnish and serve; not mix after in the bowl.

 

[jlautt]

I used the MFP to chop 3 cups of pretzels for the Choc PB Crunch Bars. I hate that using the meat tenderizer & the plastic bag always makes a pretzel dust mess on the counter (& at shows!) I put in 1 cup of pretzels & chopped them up in 3 batches. It worked well for my recipe, with minimum pretzel dust in the bowl!

I am really excited for this tip! Thanks!!!

 

[mountainmama74]

Mine's still not here! Aaaaagh!!!!

 

[alabama pc cons.]

First, I made some salsa with grape tomatoes.... worked WONDERFUL... then last night, I chopped eggs in it for english pea salad... I was AMAZED at how good it chopped them, then clean up was super easy... Usually, I do the eggs with my chopper, then its hard to clean, but not with the MFP... I love this thing....

 

[raebates]

I chuckled at the comment about it being too expensive. Several of the people I've shown the mini-catalog to have asked questions about it and then commented about how inexpensive it is. Everything's relative.I love it. I made my favorite salsa recipe (the one on the SW Seasoning Mix), and it worked fabulously. i used the Veggie Wedger* first to get the tomatoes to a manageable size. *A friend keeps calling this the Veggie Wedgie, and I have to stop myself to keep from calling it that.

 

[wadesgirl]

I chuckled at the comment about it being too expensive. Several of the people I've shown the mini-catalog to have asked questions about it and then commented about how inexpensive it is. Everything's relative.

I love it. I made my favorite salsa recipe (the one on the SW Seasoning Mix), and it worked fabulously. i used the Veggie Wedger* first to get the tomatoes to a manageable size.



*A friend keeps calling this the Veggie Wedgie, and I have to stop myself to keep from calling it that.

Isn't it bad how one comment can make you think that way! I will never again say at a show when talking about cooking chicken in the DCB "it depends on the size of your breasts". One guest looked at me and said "well mine (big) or yours (tiny)?!" I cannot talk about chicken in the DCB without thinking of that.

Or the fact that the mini scoop and measure looks like a boob when looking at the top! Someone pointed that out when we had them for HWC. They thought they were designed that way since it was for HWC.

 

[pattybrady]

I made a blueberry ice in my MFP last night and it was super easy and tasty. It was a little watery but I think I nuked the berries a little too long. I also rinsed the MFP immediately after b/c I was concerned about the blueberry juice staining it. It rinsed clean, but I'd be nervous about letting it sit for a while. Something to remember if I use blueberries, carrots, or other potentially staining foods at a show. Normally I just throw all my dirty tools into a tub and wash them when I get home.

 

[pattybrady]

*A friend keeps calling this the Veggie Wedgie, and I have to stop myself to keep from calling it that.

See, I hadn't thought of that but I sort of like that name for it. Good for a laugh at the shows and guests might be more likely to remember it when ordering? I dunno.

 

[wadesgirl]

I made a blueberry ice in my MFP last night and it was super easy and tasty. It was a little watery but I think I nuked the berries a little too long. I also rinsed the MFP immediately after b/c I was concerned about the blueberry juice staining it. It rinsed clean, but I'd be nervous about letting it sit for a while. Something to remember if I use blueberries, carrots, or other potentially staining foods at a show. Normally I just throw all my dirty tools into a tub and wash them when I get home.

The strawberry recipe called for the fruit to be slightly thawed so I'm wondering if with blueberries, you might not need to thaw them at all since they are so much smaller.

 

[pattybrady]

The strawberry recipe called for the fruit to be slightly thawed so I'm wondering if with blueberries, you might not need to thaw them at all since they are so much smaller.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking too...the size difference between strawberries and blueberries would mean no, or minimal, thawing required for blueberries.

 

[Tracie]

I love it. I made my favorite salsa recipe (the one on the SW Seasoning Mix), and it worked fabulously. i used the Veggie Wedger* first to get the tomatoes to a manageable size.

Salsa? I only see a dip & taco filling...???
Is it an old bottle? what's the recipe?:chef:

 

[gailz2]

My 3 y.o. grandson used it when I needed to cut up some onions and pickles to add to tuna--he had no problem using it. I also used it today when I was quickly making some tomato-type sauce to go with some store-bought meatballs with sauce. I thought I had more sauce at home, but only a can of diced tomatoes. After I cooked them for awhile, and wanted it quick, I decided to use the MFP, it worked like a charm to sauce it up!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I'm so excited!

We're slowly shifting to a more grain-free diet. (the little guy is highly carb-sensitive) Tonight, one of my favorite bloggers posted this grain-free cracker recipe, and most of it is supposed to be pulsed in a food processor. I can hardly wait until tomorrow to make them!

Gluten Free, Grain Free Multigrain Crackers Recipe | Elana's Pantry

I used the MFP to make these crackers today, and it worked really well!

I also used it to chop onions and potatoes for a casserole, and it worked beautifully for that too.

 

[wadesgirl]

I think someone already mentioned this but I used it to chop up the pineapple for the Sweet & Sour Shrimp in the DCB cookbook. Worked like a charm! I always hated dicing pineapple.

 

[sassypip]

I used it to make the fresh pineapple salsa. I made a lot of it, so I did the coarser ingredients first, emptied them into my small batter bowl and then did the pineapple and tomato, lime juice etc and then just mixed it all together in the batter bowl. I do not mind having to do that. I was happy to be able to chop and mix so quickly.

I do WW and have been on an egg white veggie omelet kick lately. So, this product has been wonderful for me. I cut a green pepper with the vedgie wedger(which worked nicely) and then added so me pieces of onions and mushrooms. MY neighbor happend to be over, so I let her have the honors of pushing the handle down! LOL! SHe booked a catalog party for March because she wants to get one now! Anyways, I made enough veggies to fill a 2 cup prep bowl, so now I have my ingredients ready to go for my omelets for the next few days.! LOVE IT!!!!!

I want to try the strawbeery ice too. I have some frozen strawberries in my freezer, so that is next on my list.

Love the idea of throwing the pretzels in there too!

I sometimes make my kids homemade chicken nuggets using fresh chicken breasts and coat them in crushed up croutons. Going to try the croutons in there too! I be that will work nice!!

 

[Shari in TX]

My 11-year-old son and I used it to make a small batch of the Strawberry Ice. I had some frozen mixed fruit that we used instead of the strawberries, but otherwise, we followed the recipe exactly. He said it was wonderful and tasted much better than the Fruit Chillers that I've bought at the store before. He said this tasted like real fruit. I was pleased that it had almost no sugar and was a very healthy frozen dessert. Also, the MFP was simple to use and simple to clean!

 

[lesliec]

We used it yesterday to make the Strawberry Ice. I don't know if my strawberries were a bit too hard, but it was a bit difficult to get the big chunks chopped. It did work eventually, but long after I felt that it should've. It was the perfect consistency when done though, and the boys loved it. I will definitely be keeping this recipe around. They thought they had the greatest mommy in the world for giving them Ice Cream for a snack. Next time I will leave the sugar out, as I don't really feel like it was needed, and then they will really have a healthy snack.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I'm making Grilled Chicken Penne Alfresco at my show tonight and am going to run the grape tomatoes and garlic through it to chunk them up a bit first. Also taking the new small grater along for them to use to add extra parmesan to their pasta.

 

[Jillmami]

RE: making salsa - I liked how uniform the ingredients were all chopped when compared to the salad choppers. However I feel that if I have a large group of guests, I might have a batch made ahead of time and then demo in the MFP as it doesn't make as much as I usually do with the salad choppers. I can do an entire container of grape tomatoes/onion/etc. at once whereas it wouldn't all fit in the MFP.

I agree that extra bowls would be nice. Perhaps not lids as it might stain (as some have mentioned.)

 

[julmarsala]

I made tuna salad w/carrots, orange pepper, celery, cucumber and onion. I was very impressed. Processed a bit and then added mayo and black pepper and processed it some more. Very tasty.

However, I was not happy with the clean up. I ran water over the lid while washing it (I did not submerge it) and a lot of water got into the lid/mechanism which I could hear when I shaked it. I'm not too happy about that design piece. Seems like the lid should be wipe not wash so to speak... Anyone else have this experience or thoughts.

 

[Shelly Flanagan]

Ok, so I am not big into doing PC recipes at my shows unless a host asks because I want to show my guest that they can use our products for their own normal, every day tasks. So with that said, I have been trying new ways to use the MFP.

I have used it to make an omlet for my hubby. I put in the meat, then the veggies, then the eggs, poured it into the exec cookware, sprinkled with cheese I grated the other day w/ the coarse adj. grater and viola, instant omlet. Beats dragging out my cutting board, a knife, a bowl, a whisk, the food chopper, etc. One product makes breakfast easy.
Wahoo.

Also made a version of Denny's Banana's foster French toast. I mixed eggs and cinnamon w/ a little water in the MFP til frothy, poured into a dish, dunked in my bread, baked it on the large bar pan for 12 mins in the oven on 350 and while it was cooking, in a prep bowl I added PC caramel sauce and butter and heated in the microwave at 15 sec. intervals until melted and gooey. Cut the banana's w/ the ESP and it was FANTASTIC. I know a lot more products used but it was so good I had to share.

 

[magentablue]

The Bananas Foster French Toast sounds awesome. What is ESP?

 

[Shelly Flanagan]

The Bananas Foster French Toast sounds awesome. What is ESP?

Egg Slicer Plus. Love that product!!!

 

[magentablue]

Anyone brave enough to try this with the MFP? Dog Eat Blog: Bacon Baklava

 

[leftymac]

Anyone brave enough to try this with the MFP? Dog Eat Blog: Bacon Baklava

I have everything for that in the house!

 

[wadesgirl]

I made tuna salad w/carrots, orange pepper, celery, cucumber and onion. I was very impressed. Processed a bit and then added mayo and black pepper and processed it some more. Very tasty.

However, I was not happy with the clean up. I ran water over the lid while washing it (I did not submerge it) and a lot of water got into the lid/mechanism which I could hear when I shaked it. I'm not too happy about that design piece. Seems like the lid should be wipe not wash so to speak... Anyone else have this experience or thoughts.

The UC&G states to wipe it down only, you cannot even run water over it or submerge it.

 

[wadesgirl]

Mango confetti salsa - I'm in LOVE! Although next time I will probably do it in steps, had a little problem with large chunks. Love the mango wedger for the mango and you have to have the avacado peeler, works dreams with the wedged mango. I was missing lime so it lacked that flavor and I do think it needs cilantro.

 

[annmarie8191]

I have used mine to make the mango salsa....but also wish it was bigger. I had to process the ingredients in 2 batches and then combine everything in a bigger bowl. But my co-workers LOVED the end result! Next I will try tuna salad....

 

[julmarsala]

The UC&G states to wipe it down only, you cannot even run water over it or submerge it.

The U&C provided with the MFP states: "Lid is hand wash only; do not submerge in water. Do not disassemble lid."
It didn't state anything about wipe down only or don't run water over it. If the UC&G says that, then shouldn't that be the same instruction that users get?

 

[ShellBeach]

I agree that extra bowls would be nice.

I tried to see how much replacement bowls cost. Aren't all the parts replaceable on this? Getting an extra bowl might be a good idea!
Guess we have to wait until March 1st unless somebody can find the new list. All I could find was one that expired Feb 28th.

Is it just me, or does Brian have a scary smile on page 4 of the new catalog? He looks a lot more friendly in the consultant news.