We were discussing lunch in another thread and that inspired me to start this discussion. I work for a small company that doesn't have a canteen but does have a kitchen with a microwave and a fridge. My favourite lunch for that reason is bapao, an Indonesian roll with spicey meat inside which you steam in the plastic bag it comes in, for one minute in the Microwave. People here generally eat it with a Thai or Indonesian hot pepper sauce. (only pic I could find on here: http://kassa.vara.nl/portal?_scr=kassa_artikel&number=3227114) What's everybody else's fave (packaged) microwave food?
Midnight egg sandwich Stagger in from the pub somewhere close to midnight after kicking out time. Get piece of bread Crack raw egg on to bread Carefully lay another piece of bread on top Put in microwave for 1 minute voila, perfect drunken egg sandwich!
Frozen (and fresh, for that matter) veggies do pretty well in the microwave. I lost a lot of weight once by eating frozen brocolli & cauliflower which I sprinkled with soy sauce for lunch most days. It's tastier than it sounds and I did it in a microwave. Another thing that does pretty well is frozen corn. You can put butter on it but if you don't want the fat, you can mix it up with some salsa after it's been heated.
I don't know why anyone fries bacon on the stove anymore,it's just so good coming out of the mic and you can drain the fat.
It's better, and just as easy, cooked in the oven over a rack. It's effortless, takes about 15 minutes and it's better than anything that comes from the microwave.
The only thing I ever cook in the microwave is popcorn. I think I use my microwave about once every two weeks. Popcorn and heating (some) leftovers. That's it.
Yep, I learned that from Alton Brown on Good Eats. Bake your bacon on a rack over a sheet pan in the oven at 400 for 12-15 minutes.
That sounds excellent! I never thought of cooking eggs in the microwave. I guess I can combine this advice with the bacon advice!
Well, when I cook bacon on the stove it takes at least 15 minutes, usually more. And I think oven roasted bacon is tastier than microwaved bacon. Yeah, it takes more time but not any more effort. As for temp, I guess about 400 degrees F. I haven't done it in a while. I don't cook bacon very often because no matter how I do it, my house smells like bacon for days. That should be a good thing but sadly it's not really.
I lived without a microwave for years and only missed it when I wanted to heat up coffee. As for popcorn, it's yummier if you pop it yourself in a regular pot and it isn't very much work.
As a connoisseur of the microwave frozen dinners, I can tell you that that Marie Calladar makes one hell of a great line of dinners. Now I love me the Swanson XXL as much as the next guy when it comes to simply filling me up, but when it comes to the triathalon of criteria one considers when choosing great frozen meals - portion size, choices, total flavor - you just can't bear Ms. Callandar. She is simply the best in the business. Her two packet approach to microwaving is sheer genius and makes meals that were expected to be nothing more than acceptable into culinary fansasmagoria. Without her, I would be a sad, sad fella everyday at lunchtime.
Obviously hot pockets aren't the best microwaveable food!! Jim Gaffigan is hilarious! http://youtube.com/watch?v=QUVmSBGyKm0
I like the $1 Banquet meals occasionally . The turkey one is probably my favorite. I used to like the enchilada one, but they got rid of the beans and replaced it with a third enchilada. The beans were always good, but no, they had to leave in the rice instead which sucks. Assholes. Plus, it seems as if the cheese in the cheese enchilada has changed for the worse as well. Definitely, if you're going to try one, don't get anything that's normally crunchy. Because in the microwave, it never is.
Sage advice. I don't believe in microwaving food that was originally deep fried. I also don't believe in microwaving chicken that has a bone in it. They're both gross.