Good recipes when you live in a dorm with no oven?!
Answers: I'm looking for some quick and easy recipes, we only have a microwave in our university dorm (no oven or burners). I'm sick of packaged food like Mac + Cheese or Ramen noodles!! Please give me some healthy and unique suggestions...
You can cook rice in a microwave. Put it in a ceramic dish with water (2 cups water to 1 cup rice), cover with a plate and microwave on high until the water just starts to boil. Then turn down to low and microwave until cooked. Cooking time varies depending on the amount of rice and the strength of your microwave, so experiment a few times.
I think you can cook pasta the same way, although it's never as nice as when it's boiled on the stove.
You can make pasta sauce in the microwave: chop an onion, and microwave it for 1 minute (you can pour a bit of oil on top, but you don't have to). Then add a tin of tomatoes (Italian is best) and some dried basil or origanum, and microwave on high, checking after each minute to see if it is cooked yet (it will taste slightly sweet when cooked). You can serve as is with grated cheese on top, or stir in a tin of tuna once it's cooked.
You can poach an egg in the microwave: just put it in a bowl, prick the yolk and microwave for a minute on high. If I don't feel like cooking supper, I poach an egg, cook frozen vegetables (on medium for 2 minutes), and stir it into leftover rice with some soy sauce. It tastes like egg fried rice.
You can also bake potatoes in the microwave: roughly 1 minute per 100g. Another easy meal is to heat up vegetarian sausages (they come pre-cooked), and have it with a baked potato and frozen vegetables.
You can put shredded cheese and refried beans on a tortilla and microwave until the cheese melts.
If you like tuna, you can also replace the beans with tuna. Add mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomatos if desired.
I used to eat these a lot when I only had a microwave. Now, I'm in an apartment with a kitchen. So much better!
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
get a hotplate.......had one when i was in college....BEFORE microwaves....
you can fry bacon (BLT)
cook eggs, hash browns, pancakes, grilled cheese
get the idea
a hotplate beats a microwave
I would recommend buying a small crockpot, you can make all kinds of food in those.
Microwave Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients:
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
Preparation:
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. 4 servings
Microwave Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients:
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
Preparation:
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.
In small bowl, stir together soup, sour cream and paprika with wire whisk until smooth. Add to beef mixture, stir well. Cover casserole and microwave on 50% power for 3-4 minutes or until heated through, stirring once during cooking. Let stand 3 minutes before serving. Serve over noodles.
Microwave Chili
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with onions and garlic
6 oz. can tomato paste
4 oz. can diced green chilies, undrained
2 (16 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. pepper
half of a 1 ounce square unsweetened chocolate
Preparation:
Combine oil, onion and garlic in 3 quart microwave safe glass casserole dish. Microwave on high for 4 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
Add beef to casserole and cook on high for 4 minutes, stirring once during cooking to break up meat. Cook 3 minutes longer, then drain off any fat or liquid.
Add all remaining ingredients. Mix well to combine. Microwave, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir well. Cook 10-15 minutes longer until thickened and bubbly, stirring once during cooking.
Microwave pepper Steak
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. boneless beef round steak
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tomato, chopped
Preparation:
Pound beef to 1/4" thickness with mallet and cut into 1/4" thick strips. Mix with soy sauce and paprika in medium bowl and place in 2 quart microwave safe dish. Cook on high for 4-5 minutes or until meat is browned, stirring once during cooking. Add green pepper, onion, celery, garlic and 1/4 cup water. Cover dish. Microwave on medium for 10-14 minutes until meat is tender and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring once.
Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in small bowl and mix well. Add to meat mixture along with chopped tomato and stir well. Microwave, uncovered, for 2-4 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring once during cooking.
When I was in college, we didn't even have a microwave, much less an oven.
I sometimes bought apples and peanutbutter and had that as a snack... but primarily, the healthiest food I could get was with my meal card. I walked to the cafeteria and had my meals there, for the most part.
when i worked on pipelines in Alberta i stayed in motels for months on end. we found that buying a slow cooker (30-40 bucks) was a great thing. we would cook roasts and veggies any number of things that you would only think you could cook in an oven. they are small so taking up room is not an issue. another thing that made it better was a cheap timer so you would not over cook things.