I was so pleased with the Vegetable Lasagna that when I found out a friend was having surgery, I decided to make it for her and her family. The memory of how long it took me to assemble the lasagna was fresh in my mind, so I was determined to find ways to reduce the prep time. One time save was no-cook lasagna noodles, which I was able to use since my friend can eat gluten. Below are some ways that I sped up vegetable prep: 
I used a julienne peeler 
to cut up the carrots.
I don’t have a fancy knife set, so I used a serrated bread knife to cut the tomatoes. I was really impressed with how well this worked!
I used a food chopper 
(I picked it up at a thrift store for $2.50) to finely chop the onions and bell peppers. First I cut them into several large pieces, then put one chunk in at a time to chop into fine pieces.
I tend to be a knife and cutting board person, even though I have kitchen gadgets. I even have a food processor, but I tend to only use it when I am cutting/grating a large amount of something like a block of cheese, rather than for making dinner. Would you have used your food processor? Have you found any kitchen tools that speed up prep time?
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perennialgardener says
Great time saving tips. I'm always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen, so I can spend more time in the garden. 😉
Sheila says
I tend to be a knife and cutting board person too–I can cut pretty fast that way. I just never got into using a food processor although I do have one as well as a purple food chopper. I have tons of gadgets but I tend to use just the basics in the kitchen–I guess because I learned to cook from my Ma-Maw and she didn't use gadgets and such.
mub says
If I'm only cutting one onion or something I'll usually just use the knife and cutting board… but in this case since I was chopping several different things I think I would've used the food processor.
Serrated blades work SO well for tomatoes! I have a "Diamond Cut" tomato knife (which I have been googling my little heart out for but can only find it in a 19 piece set… my grandma gave me mine) that I really love. It's kinda mean looking so we grew up calling it a "wicked knife." A serrated steak knife will work too, but I don't have one of those here. We don't eat enough steak to justify it *L*