Thursday, July 24, 2008

Warming up without microwave

Some of you may be wondering - 'ok, she does not have a microwave, so how does she warm up her food?'.
Here are some of my tricks:
Chicken, beef, lamb or pork- Warm your toaster oven up to anywhere between 350 and 450. Get some foil, put the meat inside, and close the foil up like a pouch. I can almost guarantee you that after 5-10 min in the toaster oven you will have moist, warmed meat ready to eat.
Rice - put a small bit of water in a pot, toss your cooked rice in, put the lid on and set burner heat to med-high. Cook about 5 minutes and the rice should be perfect.
Pizza, flat bread, things of the like - warm the toaster oven up to 400 F and lay the pizza on a sheet of foil. Warm for about 5 minutes and the cheese should be bubbling again and the crust just crisp enough.
Soup - reheat in a pot
Chili or stew- follow the meat method in the toaster oven
Veggies - whether they are grilled, roasted or steamed, you can lay them in a foil pouch or on a sheet of foil and reheat at 350 for a few minutes and they will be good to go.

I often put a whole balanced meal on a sheet of foil and warm that up (meaning, for example, 1/2 cup of baked sweet potato, 1/2 cup roasted brussel sprouts, 1/2 chicken breast). Warms up just fine and tastes delish without having done it in the microwave!
All the toaster oven things can also be done in a conventional oven - especially for a whole family. Parchment paper also works well with the pouch method. As a general rule if something is prone to drying out from over cooking, use the pouch method. Otherwise, if you can warm it up sufficiently in under 10 minutes, you can just lay it on a sheet pan and warm it up.

2 comments:

amandalouden said...

We dont have a microwave--never have. Good ol fashioned pot works just fine. Also love, love the toaster over.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I never imagined life without a microwave...I guess it can be done! Godd for you.