Cooking without a stove...?...?

Question

Okay...so my fiance, my son, and I, and soon our new baby...live in an apartment above my fiance's dad's business...until we save for a house. Okay...so the kitchen here has a frigde that does not hold very much, a microwave that isn't all that big, a toaster, a buffet range that takes about 2 hrs to boil water in, and a table top broiler...what I wanna know...is what are some foods that are easily cooked in a microwave...but is something that you won't get tired of eating...We would have a stove except the cost is high...even at used and rent to own places and it'd be too hard to get up here..according to my fiance.

Answer 1

There are many types of foods you can cook in a microwave. The first and most obvious of course are the ready-to-eat microwave meals in
every grocery's freezer section. Your best bet is to buy those when they go on sale and stock up then. For the most part you can cook any meat or vegetable in the microwave, though I would stay away from things like chicken with bones, I've never had good results with that. Also if you try to cook meat that's still frozen, it can sometime give off sparks, so I would definitely defrost before trying to cook them. Most boxed foods now come with details on how to cook them in the microwave.

Microwave Mexican Cube Steaks
4 beef cube steaks
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

PREPARATION:
Arrange steaks in an 8" square microwave safe dish. Cover loosely with waxed paper and cook on HIGH for 6-8 minutes, turning beef over and rearranging after 3 minutes, until almost done. Drain. Top each steak with salsa.

MICROWAVE BEEF STROGANOFF
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. paprika

Freeze steak 1 hour to make slicing easier. Cut steak into very thin slices across the grain. Combine steak, onion and garlic in a 2 quart microwave-safe casserole. Cover with lid and microwave on high 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, stirring once during cooking.

MICROWAVE SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. ketchup
dash pepper
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup halved green grapes

Cut chicken into 1" pieces and combine with pineapple chunks in 9" square glass baking dish. Combine pineapple juice, water, marmalade, cornstarch, ketchup, soy sauce and vinegar in 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup and mix well to blend. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or until mixture thickens, stirring once during cooking. Pour over chicken and pineapple in baking dish. Cover with microwave safe waxed paper. Microwave on high for 4-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, turning dish once during cooking time. Sprinkle grapes over chicken and microwave on high for 1 more minute. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.



Even if you're struggling with money, I would suggest buying a crockpot. They come in sizes up to 5 or 6 quarts, which is quite a good amount of food, and they're relatively cheap at about 25 dollars for all the time you'll get out of them, they're very well worth the money. I've had and used one for years, and I do lots of different foods with it. I use my crockpot at least once a week, sometimes almost every day of the week. If you do buy one, I suggest buying one with a removable crock-insert and one with an off, low, high, and warm option.
If you'd like some recipes for the crockpot, I have several very good ones, just email me!

Answer 2

I'm not very familiar with foods you can cook in a microwave, other than vegetables or frozen dinners. But I did live without an oven for about a month several years. I bought a good size electric frying pan with high sides. In this I could cook any kind of meat you would do on the stove. Also eggs and bacon, casseroles, etc. It would be a good investment, takes up little space and gives you some versatility. I think they are about $50 or less.

Answer 3

The electric skillet is a real good idea, or a George Foreman grill. You can also use those to grill sandwiches like a pannini press. Toaster ovens are also great.
Get some of those lipton rice sides. There are a ton of different flavors, and they all have microwave directions. Kraft mac and cheese is good, and you can make hamburger helper in it also. Don't forget the things that don't need cooking, like salads.

Answer 4

You can get books on microwave cooking which has recipes for nutritious meals to feed the family. Alternativly you can buy mini tabletop stoves which encompasses an oven and 2 hobs on top - these are quite reasonably priced (about £30) and will keep you going until you sort yourselves out with a more permanent solution. You don't say which country you're in so I don't know which shops to suggest you try.

Answer 5

I have never been a big fan of microwave cooking, but when my husband were newly married we also had no stove. I had a microwave, toaster oven, two burners that plugged in and a crock pot. I cooked everyday for three years with only this. the crock pot really saved me from food boredom. I mainly used my microwave for heating vegetables and left overs. The burners I got from Wal-mart for $12.00. they worked great. Good luck!!

Answer 6

Get an electric skillet and party on---you can cook almost anything in one---your nuke can be used to do veggies and the skillet for meats and sauces etc. You could also get a single burner that plugs in and use it to do pasta. Been there and done it all without a stove, even had company over for dinner.
You can get recipes off the web for one pot meals.

Answer 7

There are many premade frozen meals that are microwaveable that aren't that bad. Also, most boxed meals that you can make on the stove have microwave directions. Check the containers first to be sure though.

Answer 8

If you like chinese food or stir fry, get a wok and use that. I have cooked with a wok a lot when I did not want to use a stove and the food can still be healthy.

Answer 9

I just typed: microwave recipes
in the Google search bar... there are so many links, I couldn't decide on one for you. You might give it a try, to expand your recipe list.

Answer 10

I use my electric fry pan and my slow cooker alot as my kitchen gets too hot when I use the oven