I’ve recently discovered the wonders my countertop food processor is capable of. A few years ago, I added a red Kitchenaid immersion blender to my arsenal and promptly broke up with my Cuisinart countertop food processor. It normally just sits lonely on the back counter collecting dust, just another thing for me to clean, but while playing around with the new food dehydrator I also broke out another gadget collecting dust in my kitchen, my Pampered Chef mandoline, and without a doubt I hate the damn thing. The safety guard attaches to it in such a way that without it the mandoline is completely unusable. In theory, this seems like a great idea to protect against injury but it is so wonky when in actual use that I spend more time grumping at it than actually slicing anything. While struggling to use it one evening, the better half casually mentioned, “Hey, why don’t you just use the food processor? It has several different attachments.” Stunned and mind blown by her simple yet life altering revelation, I fished the attachments out of the back of a cabinet and immediately got back together with my food processor.

Needless to say, I am in love with this kitchen gadget, which I foolishly disregarded all these years. Thin slices of potatoes for the dehydrator? Sliced down in mere seconds! Want crispy hash browns for breakfast? Well, leave that cheese grater where it is! OMG it’s so simple and quick. In the past I only ever utilized the processor to puree soups.

In. Teeny. Tiny. Little. Batches. It took forever.

So all I dreamt about was getting an immersion blender but the food processor can actually do so much more. It can slice and shred like a pro with little effort. Why didn’t I think of using it sooner? It just proves that it doesn’t matter how much time you spend practicing in the kitchen, there is always something to learn and always a way to make prep work simpler! Work smarter, not harder and thanks to the food processor I am doing just that.

Hash Browns with Sunny Side Egg

Ingredients: 

1 Russet Potato, washed and sliced in half

4 slices good quality Bacon, optional

2 tsp rendered Bacon fat, optional

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method: 

In a cast iron skillet over med high flame, cook the bacon, if using, until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside on paper towels. Turn off the flame and remove all but 2 tsp of the rendered bacon fat. Alternately, use 2 tsp of oil of choice.

With a countertop food processor, shred the potato. I prefer to leave the skin on my potatoes but feel free to remove it, if you like. Turn the flame back on to med high heat. In a mixing bowl, toss the shredded potato with the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the seasoned potato to the skillet and cook until the bottom of the shredded potato has formed a very crispy layer, about 8 to 10 minutes. Then carefully flip the hash brown, in sections if needed, until it is crisp on all sides. Serve immediately with egg of choice and a side of crisp bacon. Garnish with chives, scallions, sweet basil, or fresh sage if desired.

Sunny Side Egg

Ingredients:

2 farm fresh Eggs

1 tab of Butter

Method:

In a small cast iron skillet over med high heat, melt the butter and continue to cook it until it just begins to brown. Carefully crack in the eggs, one at a time and cook until the whites have just set, about 3 to 5 minutes. Sever atop crispy hash browns.

Alternately (if for some insane reason you don’t like a runny yolk like my spouse) once the whites have set, flip the egg over in the skillet and continue to cook until desired doneness is reached for an overeasy egg.