Microwave Oven Uses

My most common uses of the microwave:

- reheating coffee
- cooking frozen dinners (lean cuisine, etc)
- make a burger in the GF grill, and then melt the cheese on in the
microwave
- microwave popcorn!
- reheating leftovers in general

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I use mine in some of the ways you do. I also depend on it to warm my cat's
dinner.

Charlie

aem said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in

the

Quoted message said:

'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in

the

Quoted message said:

pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than to
keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked potatoes
before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly

zapped

Quoted message said:

the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the insides

-

Quoted message said:

no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making

burritos

Quoted message said:

* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing juice
from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried rice
* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast,

as

Quoted message said:

easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I do all that you listed and a lot more... probably won't remember them
all so I'm not going to try adding to your list... but not a day passes
I don't use the nuker for something. Just this morning within less
than one hour I defrosted a stick of butter, melted cheese on my toast,
warmed the milk in my mug before adding the coffee, and partially
defrosted a pound package of ground pork for the sauce for tonight's
pissghetti dinner. I don't consider a microwave oven a frivolous gizmo
(nor is it any longer expensive), in today's hurried world it's
essential, in fact I seriously doubt anyone nowadays who doesn't have a
microwave very probably cooks nothing and eats ALL their meals at fast
food emporiums... instead they avail themselves of the fast food
nukers.

Sheldon

On Fri 22 Apr 2005 12:07:38p, Charles Gifford wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I use mine in some of the ways you do. I also depend on it to warm my
cat's dinner.

Charlie

What are you feeding your cat, Charlie? Are you serving it warm, or just
taking the chill off a refrigerated meal? My 5 cats want to know! <G>

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

In article <[email hidden]>,

aem said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in the
pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than to
keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked potatoes
before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly zapped
the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the insides -
no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making burritos
* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing juice
from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried rice
* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I always find it interesting when our microwave needs replacing... ;-)
I'm at a TOTAL loss without it, but remember all too well not having one.

I'd rather not be without it as I use it a LOT, for defrosting if
nothing else, but I also frequently steam veggies in it.

The only meat I cook in it is chicken tho'.
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

aem said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in the
pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than to
keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked potatoes
before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly zapped
the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the insides -
no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making burritos
* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing juice
from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried rice
* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I was a long time hold out on getting a microwave. These days I don't
know where I'd be many a night without it.

Most typical uses are defrosting meats, reheating leftovers, melting
butter, softening tortillas, cooking frozen peas and green beans,
heating water for cocoa, warming coffee, popcorn.

Jessica

aem said:

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I don't know why I replaced my old microwave when the switch bit the dust.
I used to use it to heat up milk to make hot cocoa. I have baked potatoes
in it. I tend to make a few servings of oatmeal at a time and then nuke the
leftovers. If/when this one dies, I think that I will enjoy the extra
counter space.

aem said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

Just so you know, I think it's perfectly fine to use a microwave. I
think it's useful for some people. For us, though, it isn't worth the
counter space, since we don't have a lot of leftovers and I plan our
meals in advance. I do sometimes miss the convenience of nuking
leftovers, but then I console myself by frying them in butter instead.
:-)

serene
--
http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
http://www.jhuger.com

Day Dreamer said:

My most common uses of the microwave:

- reheating coffee

Our coffee is in a thermal carafe; it doesn't get cold before it's
drunk.

Quoted message said:

- cooking frozen dinners (lean cuisine, etc)

We don't use those. When we decided to save money and improve our
health, that was the first thing out the window.

Quoted message said:

- microwave popcorn!

I just adore popcorn in the kettle on the stove. Microwave popcorn is
better than no popcorn at all (popcorn is my favorite food), but it's
nowhere near as good as when it's made in the pot.

Quoted message said:

- reheating leftovers in general

That's the one thing I wouldn't mind having a microwave for, but we get
along okay.

(Note: I'm not saying you should chuck your microwave, just that it
isn't necessary for us.)

serene
--
http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
http://www.jhuger.com

Serene said:

Just so you know, I think it's perfectly fine to use a microwave. I
think it's useful for some people. For us, though, it isn't worth
the counter space, since we don't have a lot of leftovers and I plan
our meals in advance. I do sometimes miss the convenience of nuking
leftovers, but then I console myself by frying them in butter
instead.
:-)

And I agree with you that popcorn from a pot on the stove is vastly
superior to micro-popped. Just remember to let the steam out as it
pops. -aem

Serene said:

Day Dreamer said:

- cooking frozen dinners (lean cuisine, etc)

We don't use those. When we decided to save money and improve our
health, that was the first thing out the window.

I do both, _with_ microwave dinners! at fifty cents a pop (for swanson,
last time I got them), or less than a dollar for healthy choice, they're a
real bargain. I mean, I wouldn't eat half the brocolli I do without them
(unless I'm on a stirfry binge...)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- microwave popcorn!

I just adore popcorn in the kettle on the stove. Microwave popcorn is
better than no popcorn at all (popcorn is my favorite food), but it's
nowhere near as good as when it's made in the pot.

I love my whirlye pop! but it is a _pain_ to clean...

Lena

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

I have a popcorn air popper that goes into the microwave. You can also add
oil to it. I use it a lot. I usually use the air popper if I decide I want
some and the movie I want to watch is about to come on. It takes only 3
minutes to make a huge bowl of it.

Note to self: I've got to get one of these!
C

aem said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in the
pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than to
keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked potatoes
before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly zapped
the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the insides -
no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making burritos
* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing juice
from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried rice
* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

In the last few days, I've heated water for ramen (multiple times).

Warmed/sterilized a bathtowel.

Sterilized dishtowels (again, several times)

Made a frozen dinner...

and used it to warm choco-liquer for vienesse capuccino.

lena

In article <[email hidden]>, "aem"

Quoted message said:

easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

Haven't done this for way over 20 years, but they are invaluable for
heating baby bottles.

We aren't impulse buyers, so we thought long and hard before investing
US$400 in one (that's what they cost when we bought our first). In fact,
we took a class at a high school at night that taught microwave cooking.
Almost everybody else in the class had gotten a microwave for Christmas
and wanted to learn what they could do with it. We decided to buy one,
although it turned out that we do very little cooking in it.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
[email hidden]

Chris Neidecker said:

"Dog3" <uhoh@ajfl;ajklsd;ajlds.nutz> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

I have a popcorn air popper that goes into the microwave. You can also add
oil to it. I use it a lot. I usually use the air popper if I decide I want
some and the movie I want to watch is about to come on. It takes only 3
minutes to make a huge bowl of it.

Note to self: I've got to get one of these!
C

Good stuff, the first one we got was [censored] but the one I picked up at
Target for ~ $7 works really well.

aem said:

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

Don't forget root veggies. Put 'em in a covered (but not sealed)
microwave dish with just a bit of water and nuke. The water prevents
the surface from becoming leathery.

Bacon can be put between a couple paper towels and nuked while the
towel wicks all the grease. This works well with small amounts of
bacon, but the one should know their m/w, well and monitor closely,
as the bacon will go from done to burnt real quick.

Store-bought pappadams nuke to crisp perfection done one at a time for
about 30-40 seconds each.

I often nuke single items just to test how it will come out ...a
single shrimp in a marinade, a single stalk of asparagus just to
munch (one veggie that'll nuke perfectly w/o drying out).

Anyone who can't find a use for a m/w has no imagination.

nb

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in the
'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in the
pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than to
keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked potatoes
before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly zapped
the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the insides -
no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making burritos
* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing juice
from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried rice
* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as fast, as
easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I do all those things with exception of defrosting meat. I find meat
defrosted in the microwave always partially cooks, and microwaved meat
(chicken thighs excluded), never works. A sink full of warm water will thaw
meat quickly enough for me.

Scott.

Scotty said:

"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was surprised to see microwave ovens listed by several people in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

'outlandish/useless...kitchen gadget' thread. In the past several
days I used the microwave in the following beneficial ways:

* partially cooked bacon slices -- makes the bacon lie flat in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

pan
* reheated coffee -- better to let it go cold and reheat than

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

keep it (insufficiently) warm for hours
* defrosted frozen berries before blending them for a sauce for
ice cream
* cooked frozen peas, cooked fresh broccoli, pre-cooked

potatoes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

before baking
* reheated a variety of leftovers
* poured chicken stock into a pot for heating, then briefly

zapped

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the jar to liquefy the gelatinous stock still clinging to the

insides -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

no wastage
* zapped refrigerated tortillas soft/flexible for making

burritos

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

* zapped a large lime for 10 seconds to maximize squeezing

juice

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

from it
* heated milk/butter mixture before mashing potatoes
* zapped frozen peas to defrost/warm before adding to fried

rice

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

* defrosted various meats for supper -- didn't have to decide
which hours in advance

Could I have accomplished these things without the microwave?
Absolutely. Would the alternatives have been as effective, as

fast, as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

easy? No way. What else do people do with theirs? -aem

I do all those things with exception of defrosting meat. I find meat
defrosted in the microwave always partially cooks, and microwaved

meat

Quoted message said:

(chicken thighs excluded), never works.

You're getting too carried away with the zapping.

Quoted message said:

A sink full of warm water will thaw
meat quickly enough for me.

Defrosting meat with warm water is unsafe... use cold water and change
it often.

Sheldon said:

Defrosting meat with warm water is unsafe... use cold water and change
it often.

Or just keep the cold water moving, as in leave the tap running a
trickle. I've defrosted large roasts in less than 30 minutes with this
technique.