I have had a food process for 35 years or more. So, I have used it from the time I had babies to the present time when my nest consists of my husband, his 85 year old mother, and me. When I was cooking big meals, the time saved chopping onions, celery, etc. was far more than the time spent washing the food processor, bowl, lid, and blades. (Yes, you can put all those things in the dishwasher, but boy do they ever fill up the top of the dishwasher fast.) Now, not so much. I can get out a paring knife or chef's knife and chop my one onion, one stalk of celery, and wash that knife in very little more time than it takes to put the processor together, much less wash and dry it all. That being said, when I am doing big cooking, like at the holidays, I am very glad to still have a food processor. On those days, when I am chopping pounds of onions and whole stalks of celery, pounds of nuts, etc., it's more than worth having. I have let the blender go by the wayside over the years. The food processor does everything it can do and more. I do like my little immersion blender from time to time. I do not use my FP for making bread. I have a Zoji bread machine for that, and I will never want to be without that. I make pie crust by hand with a steel pastry cutter. It makes a bit bigger mess, but the quality of the crust is far better than any I was ever able to make in the FP. I have a Victorio Food Mill, so I don't use my Food Processor in canning, except if I am making relishes with onions and garlic. I probably don't even need to use it then, but I don't want the allium smells in the Victorio's parts. I confess that I have grown lazy and buy most cheese already shredded now. But when I was cooking for a crowd, I used my FP shredder blade a lot. It saves money and time without a doubt. I have had Cuisinart, KitchenAid, and an inexpensive one that came from WalMart years ago. You know what? They have all performed basically the same, though the inexpensive one was louder. The Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid lasted longer, but probably not enough to justify the extra expense. Nevertheless, I have a KitchenAid right now and I really do like it. I would hate to be without, but the day may come when I need the counter space more. Our needs do change as time passes.

Here are just a few of my gazillion favorite recipes! All are pepared ahead and heated at last minute. CLAMS CASINO Posted by tobygirl (My Page) on Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 6:31 Here's a very good one, which I have made many times. 2 cans minced claims with their liquid 2 Tbls. lemon juice 1 small onion chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 2 Tbls. fresh parsley chopped or 1 tsp. dried 1/4 c. butter 1/2 tsp. oregano 3/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs 2 drops hot sauce or to taste 1/2 c. cheddar or parmesan cheese grated Paprika Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Simmer clams with their liquid and lemon juice in a covered saucepan for 5 minutes. Set aside. Saute onion, garlic and parsley in butter for about 5 minutes; then add the oregano, bread crumbs, hot sauce and clams/lemon juice mixture. Spoon into a greased pie plate and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and paprika and return to oven just until cheese melts. Serve warm with crackers. Robust Onion Cheese Toast (posted by Caliloo) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 package cream cheese, softened 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons minced onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 loaf sliced cocktail rye bread Combine mayo, cream cheese, blue cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper sauce and white pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours to let flavors blend. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Spread 2 teaspoons mixture on each slice of bread and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to serve. To Serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking sheet and bake 10 15 minutes until toasts are puffy and slightly brown. Dlynn's Ham & Asparagus Roll-ups 24 fresh asparagus spears 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 12 slices bread, crusts trimmed off 12 slices thinly sliced deli ham 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted paprika Garnishes green onions, curl red bell peppers Snap off tough ends of asparagus, and remove scales from stalks with a vegetable peeler, if desired. Arrange asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from steamer, and cool on paper towels. Stir together cream cheese and next 3 ingredients. Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin to flatten. Spread 1 side of each slice with 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture; top each with 1 ham slice. Place 2 asparagus spears, tips pointed toward opposite ends, on one end of each bread slice; roll up, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. Garnish, if desired. Note: Freeze unbaked rollups up to 1 month in an airtight container. Thaw in refrigerator, and bake as directed. Yield: 12 appetizer servings. Hot Beef Dip 4 oz dried beef, shredded 8 oz cream cheese, softened 8 oz sour cream small can of chopped chilis Bake at 350* until hot and bubbly.....about 20-25 minutes SUZIE'S PESTO CHEESECAKE CRUST 1 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese 1/2 cup melted butter Mix all together and press into 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. FILLING 4 (8 oz packages) cream cheese 4 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 cups pesto (from the refrigerator section of your grocer) Beat with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Chill several hours or overnight. Remove from pan and decorate with a little chopped tomato or chopped sundried tomatoes. Slice into very thin slices and serve on small individual plates - or - cut into thirds and place 1/3 on serving plate and use to spread on crackers or baguettes. Be sure to decorate with a little chopped "red" tomato accent and maybe some green basil too. Looks beautiful! (If you cut into thirds, you can serve 1/3 and freeze the remaining for another time.) NEW MEXICAN CHILE DIP from the kitchen of Jim Myers Makes about 3 quarts 2-3 pounds ground beef 2 pounds Velveeta cheese cubed 2 large onions, chopped 1 - 28 ounce ounce can crushed tomatoes 4 cloves garlic chopped 2 - 4 ounce cans chopped green chiles 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin Brown ground beef with the onions and drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes. Transfer to crock pot to keep warm. Use large corn chips for dippers.

Linda!!!! And you live in the Loosemeat Capitol of the world! I would think a steamed burger loosemeat sandwich would be excellent. Crumble the raw meat, steam until brown, add seasonings and make the sandwich, ************************************************************ Loosemeat Sandwiches Ingredients: 2 pounds lean ground beef 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups water 1 onion, chopped 24 slices dill pickle slices 4 ounces prepared mustard 8 hamburger buns Directions: 1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until brown. Drain. Return to pan with salt, pepper, and water to cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until water is gone, 15 to 30 minutes. 2. Serve meat on buns topped with chopped onion, dill pickle slices and mustard

There are not one set of specific drying times for various fruits, vegetables and meats. Food dehydrator drying times can vary over a range of times depending on various factors including: ��the type of food being dried, ��the amount of food placed in the dehydrator, ��the thickness of the food slices, ��how even the slices are, ��the percentage of water in the food, ��the humidity and temperature of the air, ��the altitude of the place where you are dehydrating and ��the dehydrator model being used. Here is a link that might be useful: Food Dehydrator