Okay, so our whole living situation right now is completely out of control, and I’m going to blog about it soon. I was hoping to wait until it’s over, but that doesn’t seem to be anytime soon, so I’ll have to try to find the humour while still in the midst of the frustration!
Our biggest hurdle right now is that our house has no gas, thanks to our landlord’s not having money to pay the gas bill for March. No hot water, no stove, no oven. Yeah, fun. And it’s not likely to be turned on anytime soon because we decided to move out, so we have no incentive to pay for it.
My thing is that I need to cook for my family without a stove and oven. I have a microwave and a fridge, and a very tight budget. I’d really appreciate any ideas you fine folks might have for microwave meals that are cost-effective.
And I promise I will give the whole story soon. If it weren’t so frustrating, it would definitely be laughable!
Trust me, someday you will be able to laugh. Or, if not that, at least write about it in a way that makes others laugh -- which is almost as good. Maybe better.
ReplyDeleteCooking tips from She Who Hates Cooking...
First of all, have you considered going to K-mart or Rite Aid and getting yourself a hot plate? They're probably $20 or $40, and will open a world of culinary possibilities. I cooked exclusively on a 2 burner hot plate for over a year, and lived to tell the tale.
Or, does Mary have a crock pot you can borrow? If not, you can get them for $10 or 15 if you watch for sales and aren't too picky. Again, opens worlds of possibilities.
Or a rice maker.
Or an electric skillet. My mom cooked for over a year on 2 electric skillets - at first, only one. She made gourmet meals, serving 6 or more people at a time. She even made lasagna!
You can cook rice in a microwave. Not easy, not the best, but do-able.
And, there's tons of stuff you can do with instant mashed potatoes. Cook up some ground beef (covered) in the microwave, add some instant gravy. Boil water in a hot pot or in the microwave, and you've got mashed potatoes with meat & gravy. Yummy, cheap, & easy. And full of sodi-yumm.
Add frozen peas and some cheese or milk to your mashed potatoes. Complete proteins, and very colorful.
Do you have a toaster? Cream of mushroom soup over toast was a cheap & filling meal when I was young. Add a little canned tuna or ham, and it almost becomes nutritious. Sort of.
And, you can always scramble eggs in the microwave (cover, & cook for only a minute or less at a time). Casseroles of egg, milk, and thawed hashed brown potatoes are probably also do-able. Just use low power, cover, and don't expect the world's best texture.
Most importantly, hang in there. Remember, it came to pass....
Love ya!
gjHave you looked at the library, at used books or asked Mary if she has a microwave cookbook? An older one that came with every microwave 15 to 20 or more years ago always had all the basics for cooking everything. I have an old one by GE (Microwave Oven Guide & Cookbook)from 1979 that is all inclusive. Julie
ReplyDeleteAnother meal option is to have a "picnic-style" meal, one of our favorites. Just some fresh fruit, cheese, french bread, yummy beverage and dessert of some sort. We always enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the cooking situation. I think I'd be mighty frustrated too, if I were in your shoes!
Steamer bags for the microwave work really well. You can use them more then once if you are careful.
ReplyDeleteYou can cook/steam veggies in steamer bags (fresh or frozen green beans, carrots, & peas; they come out better then on a stove) I add a bit of butter and seasonings to the bags, & chicken (frozen or fresh bone less skin less) & fish.
The last bag of little red potatoes I got had directions for steaming them in the bag they came in the microwave. Pick the bag and throw them in for 5 minutes.
They were great.
Check the directions on rice, stuffing, saffron rice, Zatarains rice, odles of noodles, etc for microwave directions.
Microwave mashed potatoes are a bit expensive but they are very very good and taste home made. I think I use Bob Evans.
Sometimes I will mix a chunky soup with an oodles of noodles and /or extra steamed veggies.
Oh, Bob Evans frozen sausage biscuts are wonderful and very easy to heat up in a microwave.
Those little microwaveable mac and cheese single serving things are realy good- Easy Mac
Hot dogs of course. The old dependables like soup, & ravoli.
Try heating up tomato soup and use 1/2 a can of cream instead of a can of water, and add a handful of cheese (like cheddar) and a touch of hot sauce right before it is done heating up. You can also add a can of diced tomatoes.
Stouffers has great microweavable products. Their mac & cheese is good, so are the swedish meatballs, meatloaf, and salisbury steak dinners.