How do you use your microwave?
 

Besides the usual ways I found a couple of shortcuts.

Cloves of garlic--I zap them for a few seconds. They are easy to peel, chop and it's a little like roasting them if you leave them in longer.

Eggplant--I cut eggplant in 1/2" slices [no peeling] and zap them too. They get soft and I can press a lot of the liquid out before pan frying them in just a little olive oil. It skips salting to remove moisture.

Italian Sausage--I zap them for 30 seconds. Then I split them lengthwise and brown off on both sides in a cast iron skillet.

Peppers and Onions---If I'm in a rush I zap them too just to soften. It saves time in the fry pan.

I really like this idea, thanks for sharing. I pretty much use my microwave for heating up leftovers.

It's my favorite way to cook bacon. I never put bacon in a frying pan. If I need to cook it for a crowd, I put it on my broiler pan and bake it in the oven.

We can include baking tips and tricks. I was just trying to get a conversation going and someone asked me if I had any new recipes and that's what came to mind first.

Corn on the cob. Do not remove the shuck. Nuke for three minutes. Shuck and silk pull right off and corn is yummy. Another way is to shuck the corn, butter it, sprinkle lightly with garlic powder (not salt) and parsley flakes, wrap in plastic wrap. Nuke for three minutes. One of my faves.

Like DG, bacon either nuked or baked.

Browning ground beef
 

Ground meat. 6 - 7 minutes a pound. Break up at three minutes and again when done. Less mess than browning any other way.

And if this makes you feel better the microwave is a real electricity sipper. One month's usage never exceeds .6 kWh (less than six cents) for two of us. Far cheaper than an oven, stove top, coffee maker, kuerg or even the toaster.

Thanks for the energy info. I thought maybe I was using it too much.

Whenever I need a hot kitchen wash cloth I get it wet and nuke it. It takes too long and wastes too much water waiting for the sink hot water.

Do you think it is also killing germs?

Yes I have read that the microwave does in fact disinfect.

I thought micros kill germs, after all they boil water. There are plenty of on line experts that disagree. It must be an issue as the NY Times warned readers about this, the issue seems to be cold spots Do Microwave Ovens Kill Bacteria? - The New York Times

I dunno, it has always cooked beef for me as I posted.

I use mine to provide light over my gas range. Sometimes, I use its timer. In my motorhome, I use it for a bread box.

Do you know if it works?

[QUOTE=Toymeister;1534167]I thought micros kill germs, after all they boil water. There are plenty of on line experts that disagree. It must be an issue as the NY Times warned readers about this, the issue seems to be cold spots Do Microwave Ovens Kill Bacteria? - The New York Times

Fact: Microwaves don't kill bacteria – microwaves generate heat that kills bacteria in foods. Microwave ovens are great time-savers and will kill bacteria when foods are heated to a safe internal temperature. But microwaved foods can cook unevenly because of irregular shapes or variations in thickness.Aug 23, 2012
Mythbusters: Debunking Myths about Food Safety in the Home ...
Mythbusters: Debunking Myths about Food Safety in the Home! | FoodSafety.gov

The extractor fan works and my grown up grandkids have reheated pizza in it....once....when I made them clean up their mess they grew weary of the hassle.

This is a very useful and informative thread. I've learned a new way to cook eggplant and corn and found out the microwave does not disinfect.

In looking for information about killing germs I learned that some bikers put their empty water bottle in the freezer to kill germs instead of washing them. When they do wash they use vinegar. I used dish soap but to get it all out I was filling it up 4 or 5 times. Way more then that, I would just get a new one. I'm definitely doing the corn.

I buy the square packages of Nestles Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or any of their other varieties (the round packages will also work). Cut 3 of the pre-formed squares in half, making 6 pieces. Put them separated on a piece of parchment paper, and nuke for 90 seconds. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes. They come out like the cookie crisps they sell at Market Basket (maybe better)

My husband cooks his "dish soap & water" in the MWO because it wastes too much water waiting for hot water the normal way.

That is a good idea.

I'm switching from soap to vinegar to kill the germs or putting the empty bottle in the freezer.

Now that makes good sense!!! Thank you for the tip!!!

I use my microwave all the time. I make homemade soups, boil chicken and cut and cubes and freeze it, freeze rice, quinoa, spaghetti in serving portion sizes, freeze sautéed peppers and onions, freeze homemade pasta sauce, make meatball/meatloaf and freeze and this way when I want a nice quick meal, I defrost in the microwave without having to really cook. Spaghetti squash cooks nice in the microwave, too . If I have frozen hot dogs or frozen cooked sausage, I put it in a little water and microwave on 50% power for about 45 seconds and cook on high for about 30 seconds after that. Same thing with defrosting the cubed chicken in microwave. Add a little water so it doesn't dry out. Then you can add any seasoning or sauce to it. The peppers and onions will go good with scrambled eggs. The corn on the cob works great as someone else said, I give it a quick run over of water first before putting in microwave. You can even cook a baked potato in a microwave.

How do you use your microwave
 

I zap my damp sponge every day the microwave for 1 minute on high to kill germs. Sponges retain ALOT of bacteria! Make sure the sponge in decently damp otherwise a dry sponge can burn.

While he is saving water where he is really saving is electricity to heat the water. How much? Well, 1.39 cents per gallon for a sixty degree rise in temp (70 degree cold to 130).

Now is it worth it? Let me know what he says when you tell him. I Know what it saves and I only use the microwave for food prep.

Tell him to take out the light bulb in the door bell and save the equivalent of 143.9 gallons of hot water annually.

Duh! It holds the fan, filter, and light over my cooktop.

wow I'm impressed.

He's an electrician and a master dish washer, what can I say?

Yeah I have been known to over study.

Another of my microwave tricks is 2 cups water, 1 cup long grain rice cover with wrap in bowl, 5 minutes on high followed by 15 minutes on 50% power. Perfect rice every time

do you wash the rice? when I remember i put the rice in a colander and wash it,,mostly because they say too

how long for brown rice? that takes a bit longer on the stove---

We use our Microwave very carefully. A perfectly clean 2-year-old LG Microwave caught on fire while we were heating up a Sweet Potato. LG couldn't have cared less when I reported to them. There are many references about this problem if you Google it. It seems the high sugar content of the sweet potato is to blame. Go figure. Trying to be healthy and almost burnt down the house.

Wow I have been cooking sweet potatoes in the microwave for decades and never heard this.

This thread got me to thinking, I did not realize just how much I use my microwave:

I slice onions, put them into a dish with a tablespoon of water, cover and microwave for two minutes, then fry. Best onions ever.

I do sliced peppers the same way - peppers and onions, yum.

Corn on the cob, two minute, then strip - the corn, not me!!!.

Baked potatoes - turn every minute for three minutes, wrap in foil to finish off.

Reheat whatever I need reheating.

I make strawberry puree, keep it in the fridge, nuke several tablespoons and serve over biscuits with cream - now that is really yum.

Chocolate sauce for ice cream.

So many ways to use your microwave and some great new ideas on this thread.

If you like left over pizza this is a great reheating idea: put your cold pizza into a warm fry pan, heat until the base is crispy, add two tablespoons water to pan and cover with lid. Let warm through. The finished pizza is almost as good as a new one.

We store stuff in it.

Microwave energy is part of the radio frequency spectrum. It does not disinfect anything. It is the heat that disinfects. So if you use a microwave and want to kill germs you will need to heat the item substantially enough for a sufficient time ? period to kill the bacteria in question. If you boil water the boiling water will kill germs (but not the microwave energy). Also a micrwave heats disproportionately within the oven so the warnings about cooking raw food are valid. Cooking must be sufficient to thoroughly heat the entire food product or cold spots may contain pockets of germs.

I call this "Potatoes Pas Pourri"

First of all contrary to popular web opinion I refrigerate my potatoes so they last longer.

This morning using the potato peeler and a fork to hold it I removed the skin and kept going until I had a pile of "shavings." I nuked them for a minute and put them in a hot skillet with onions, mushrooms, and less then a TB of oil "which was too much." They came out perfect. That One Minute nuke made a huge difference. I could have added peppers, ham or pork belly after the nuke too. [btw] Pork Bellies Futures are plummeting. If only they had longer legs. [i'm going to keep rewriting that joke until it works]

You sound like a very good cook ...not so great comedien

I hope no one puts that on my tombstone. but thanks anyway :o

My father was also a very good cook which I define as someone who does not need a recipe but has an inherent knowledge of how to prepare food. Unfortunately he did not pass this gene on to me so very good cook will not appear on mine and I doubt comedien will make it either.

It's easier then ever to be a good cook. The hard part, most prone to error is knowing when it's done. A digital thermometer does the job if you get it in the center and the recipe and google tells you what the temp should be.

If you pm me your favorite dishes I will think of a way to make each one easy for you to cook and pm you the directions. Believe me, I will enjoy the challenge.

The problem that I have is that my husband has celiac disease so everything has to be gluten free. I just ordered a cook book for Gluten Free and Mediterranean Diet recipes because as Nucky once put it I am a few biscuits over weight.

Less then a year ago my son who is also a good cook and does most of the cooking was diagnosed with celiac. The book I sent him and highly recommend is the no gluten Book written by America's Test kitchen $7.98
The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook: Revolution Techniques. Groundbreaking Recipes by America's Test Kitchen, Paperback | Barnes & Noble(R).
It's a very scientific approach to cooking. They try different ingredients and methods until the panel says it's perfect. My son told me every recipe from that book was wonderful. He does a huge crockpot on sunday and they eat that all week. I couldn't do that.
I'm lucky. He visits me for a week and we cook. Making low calorie meals is easier taking gluten out of the equation. He frequently makes Shepard's Pie but I'm not sure what the calorie count is. So if you pm me your favorite meals and anything I come up with I will send to him.

it looks like i can download it for free---since that's too good to be true if someone knows how to find out if this is safe let me know---
Free Download The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook: Revolutionary Techniques. Groundbreaking Recipes. [PDF] Full Online by - America s Test Kitchen - PDF Free 21541