My kitchen's smallest work horse

I love my Cuisinart mini prep processor. I received it as a Christmas gift, and have been using it for a year and two months now. It works just as well today as the day I first used it. I would estimate that I use it on 3-4 occasions per week, so that means I've used it somewhere around 200 times. Here are the main reasons why I love it:

1) Only 3 parts to clean... the bowl, the blade, and the lid. It doesn't get any easier than this, folks.

2) I love the chop/grind option, and use it frequently. Pulsing back and forth between chop and grind helps stubborn pieces fall down into the bowl for an even chop.

3) I use this tool primarily for chopping firmer vegetables... onions, garlic, carrots... etc. I have read some reviews that state that it doesn't chop onions well. If you read the instructions, you will notice that Cuisinart recommends coarsely chopping vegetables first, before processing them. I've found that I don't need to chop any finer than about 2" pieces in order for everything to come out okay. If you're getting mush, I'd recommend pulsing back and forth between chop and grind. If you're STILL getting mush, you've probably filled the bowl too full. Personally, I don't mind "dirtying" a knife/cutting board to do a coarse chop, simply because I don't do EVERYTHING in my mini Cuisinart, so the board is going to get dirty anyway! Not having to chop onions and garlic saves me SO much time and is worth the price of this appliance alone.

This processor does have its shortcomings... it doesn't chop soft veggies (e.g. tomatoes, green peppers) very well. It will puree them just fine, but I haven't had much luck chopping them. If you want a puree, just follow the same guidelines and pre-chop your veggies to about 2" each. Also, I haven't had any luck chopping chocolate with my mini prep processor. Maybe it's too hard, I'm not sure?

The bottom line is, this little appliance is reliable, easy to clean, and has many uses in my kitchen. For the price, it is easily one of the most cost efficient appliances that I own. The trick to getting it to work well, is to follow Cuisinart's instructions (yes, that means you have to READ them). Make sure you don't put in pieces that are too big or fill the bowl too full, and you should be fine.