Whether you’re living in catered or non-catered accommodation, the one piece of kitchen equipment you’re bound to have access to is a microwave. This fantastic appliance will cook almost anything with much less faff and much more speed than a conventional oven. Here’s how to use your microwave to make delicious, yet stress-free meals morning, noon and night.
Porridge
Porridge is a great way to start the day as it’s nutritious (oats are rich in antioxidants and fibre) and tasty. Luckily for you, it’s also very easy and quick to make in the microwave. Simply follow a 2:1 liquid to oats ratio, cook on medium a medium heat for 3 minutes and voila, perfect porridge. However, my microwave porridge top tip is to keep an eye on your breakfast whilst it’s cooking. I’ve had milky volcano-like explosions on a couple of occasions when I wasn’t paying attention, and take it from me, cooked on porridge is not easy to clean off! If you manage to avoid disaster, try adding some flavourings to the mix for the final minute of the cooking time. Some popular options include: golden syrup, cinnamon, sultanas, jam, banana, berries, seeds, nuts.
“Porridge is a great way to start the day as it’s nutritious (oats are rich in antioxidants and fibre) and tasty. Luckily for you, it’s also very easy and quick to make in the microwave.”
Loaded Sweet Potato
One of my absolute favourite things to have for lunch is a baked sweet potato. A medium size tatty only needs piercing with a fork a few times, and cooking on high for around 6-8 minutes, to be perfectly soft and fluffy. Like porridge, you can load your potato up with a multitude of toppings. You could have the classic cheese and baked beans (remember, half a tin of baked beans will warm through in just a minute and a half in the microwave – just remember to take them out of the tin first)! Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, and have a little more time on your hands, then you could top with some microwave chilli. Scroll for the recipe…
“Chilli is a staple student meal, but did you know that you can drastically reduce the preparation time by cooking it in the microwave?”
Microwave Chilli (click for source)
Chilli is a staple student meal, but did you know that you can drastically reduce the preparation time by cooking it in the microwave? Well, now you know, and here’s how to do it…
First of all, put half a small, chopped onion, one fat clove of garlic (crushed), a knob of butter and some fajita seasoning into a microwavable container and heat on high for 30-40 seconds. Then leave it to stand for a minute, before adding 400g of drained, tinned tomatoes (but keep the juices), 400g of drained and rinsed kidney beans, half a vegetable stock cube and two squares of dark chocolate. Next, cover the tub with cling film and pierce it a few times with a knife. Place some kitchen towel on the microwave turntable, put the container on top, and then cook for 2 minutes on high. Stir it well and leave to stand for another minute. If the chilli mixture dries out, you can add a little of the reserved tomato juice to thin it out. Next, cover and cook on medium for another 2 minutes before finally stirring it through and serving with some sour cream.
Chocolate Mug Cake (click for source)
Mug cakes are great microwavable treats as they are super tasty and take less than 10 minutes to make! First, mix 4tbsp of self-raising flour, 4 tbsp of caster sugar and 2 tbsp of cocoa power into the largest mug you own. Then, add 1 medium egg and mix as much as possible. Then splash in 3 tbsp of milk, 3 tbsp of vegetable or sunflower oil and a little vanilla essence and mix until smooth. You can then stir in 2 tbsp of chocolate chips, nuts, peanut butter, or frozen berries, if you’d like. Finally, place the mug in your microwave and cook on high until the cake has stopped rising and is firm to the touch; this normally takes around 1 ½ to 2 minutes. You can then top with some squirty cream if you’re feeling extra fancy.
See, your microwave is great for more than just warming up cold tea you’ve forgotten about! Although, I wouldn’t recommend cooking anything that could possibly give you food poisoning in the microwave, it’s a great kitchen appliance for making quick snacks and meals, with the added bonus of less washing-up at the end!
Jenny Katte
Featured image courtesy of ‘Angie’ via Flickr. Article image courtesy of ‘Jeanne’ via Flickr. Image usage license here.
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