Microwave Problems

Do you have any microwave meal ideas?

I am looking for nutritious meals that can be cooked in a microwave, that are also cheap. I have an extremely limited budget for food. The microwave is very small (can barely fit a dinner plate, and is barely higher than a large cereal bowl), and takes longer than usual to cook- a cup of Ramen takes 3 min instead of 2, for instance. My daughter is getting tired of Ramen, cups of Mac 'n cheese, and sandwiches. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Public Comments

1. you can buy vegetables in small individual bags (like enough for one person's dinner in each) - usually in the shop's frozen section buy them, buy some thin slices of beef, bang it in the microwave for a while (5 minutes?) whip up some gravy, pour it on top and eat up :)
2. Mashed potatoes can be done in the microwave. And soups! Any soup under the sun. Go nuts with online recipes. Just cover the vegies with water and at teaspoon of powdered stock and microwave for 3-5 minutes (depending). Then mash once they're soft. Bread and butter to go with it. Cauliflower, sweet potato & carrot with vegie stock and a tin of creamed corn is good too -- just put into small bowls and heat one at a time. Carrots are particularly cheap. With soups you take regular foods and make them go further ;-) Any salad under the sun too -- I do one with a tin of borlotti beans, half a red onion, a tin of peas, some chopped coriander/cilantro and a chopped green or red bell pepper/capsicum. Tinned kidney beans are good with this kind of salad too. Good for hot weather. All home brand / supermarket brand tins of course -- they're just as good. I have a squirty lemon thing for dressing -- it's a dollar to buy and lasts for ages -- cheaper than lemons! Add salt and pepper. Or you can microwave e.g. some pumpkin or potato and make a salad with that. Pumpkin and potatoes are really cheap. Pumpkin soup is the cheapest meal money can buy. You can cook small portions of cous cous -- it's really very cheap and expands massively (again, one at a time) to go with microwaved root vegetables, like squash and yams. You can then microwave, say, a tomato & onion sauce to pour over them. It's cheaper to buy a tin of tomatoes, have a tube of tomato paste on hand and a single onion than it is to buy a jar of Paul Newman. Avoid the prepackaged stuff. It's expensive and doesn't go far. I have a tight budget too (still studying). I tend to buy in bulk, cook soups at the beginning of the week and freeze things -- but I only cook for myself.
3. Im guessing the microwave is your only cooking appliance, because it is my least favorite way of cooking and I often find the stove top or oven gives me more versatility and really doesn't take much longer. You can cook rice, veggies and chicken in a microwave, though I wouldn't do it all at the same time. Look for chicken parts that on sale. Buy frozen vegetable in a microwavable steamer back, or look for vegetable on sale, zucchini, corn on the cob, broccoli, and asparagus work well in the microwave. Carrots can be peeled and steamed and cooked in hot water or stock. Look for single portions of rice that are cooked in a bag, since it sounds as though you are only cooking for your daughter. Cook the rice as per directions of the box, set aside. Cut the chicken in strip or pieces and poach in the microwave in broth, 2 to 3 minutes. You can even use the leftover rice water for poaching, just add some seasoning-set aside, then wrap the vegetables in saran wrap and microwave 2-5 minutes depending on the vegetables. You can combine the ingredients and reheat or do all this the day before. Refrigerate all ingredients, combine enough of each ingredient to make one portion, sprinkle with some shredded and microwave until hot.` This website has quite few recipes and microwave tips. Go to page 2 for the recipes. http://busycooks.about.com/od/microwaveovens/a/microwavemagic.htm
4. you can make a jacket potato in a microwave Ingredients 4 large potatoes 4 knobs butter 100g (4 oz) grated cheese 1 carrot, grated Preparation method 1.Scrub the potatoes and prick with a fork. Set the microwave to 9 minutes on high and cook the potatoes until tender (you may need a more or less time depending on the size of your potatoes and your microwave). 2.Cut a slice lengthwise halfway through each potato and add a knob butter to each. 3.In a bowl mix the cheese and carrot and divide it equally between the potatoes. Place in the microwave for 30 seconds on high, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately. hope this helps