No Kitchen for a week - meal ideas please!!!

isica1903

Hi all,
I'm having a new kitchen fitted and looking for ideas of what to do for dinners without an oven/kitchen. I've got a fryer and a steamer but don't really want to have chips or takeaway every day. Have already cooked a curry to put in freezer which can be heated in the microwave but am a bit stuck for any other ideas.
Also I'm hopefully borrowing MIL's slow cooker, but my kids won't eat any "all in one" type foods like stews etc so was wondering if you can cook pasta/rice/potatoes in a slow cooker?? I've never used one and don't really know how they work.
It doesn't help that I've got 3 people staying over next week as well lol, though 2 of them are helpers one is a very fussy 11 year old who doesn't like anything.
Has anyone got any tips and ideas they could share??

Butterfly_Brain

I went through this a couple of years ago so I know what you are about to go through. I use this web site for slow cooking recipes it is really good
http://www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/
I also found a camping stove useful
You could get a book on microwave cooking from the library - it could help too.
Good Luck and just focus on what a lovely kitchen you will have in only 7 days.

the_cat

I often cook pasta and rice in the microwave - it tastes just as good
Potatoes and veg too can be done like this.

Would everyone eat bolognese sauce? This comes out well done in the slow cooker. How about a 'roast' chicken or bacon joint. This is easy to do in the slow cooker too and you could stretch it to make a second meal with to save on cooking.

Also get a cheap BBQ if you don't already have one as this will mean you can cook burgers/sausages etc with salad and rolls and keep even the fussy kid happy!

Don't knock yourself out too much though - there will be plenty to do without feeling you have to 'cater'. Try to budget for a couple of cheap takeaways or get a few ready meals in the freezer.

isica1903

Thanks for your replies. I didn't know you could pasta and rice in the microwave, how do you do it? A BBQ is a great idea, hadn't thought of that, let's hope the weather is reasonable. Bolognese is a good idea, they all like it so should be fine, just wasn't sure about the spag, but if it can be done in microwave then I should be sorted. I don't really know how long it will be till I have use of the cooker again, may well be less than a week, I just want to be prepared for any delays as OH is fitting it himself!;)
If anyone has any more ideas please keep them coming!

Pink.

Hi isica,

These threads might give you some more ideas:

HELP!! Kitchen Help - cooking without a kitchen (merged)

what can i cook in microwave - oven is dead!

Microwave Recipes

In my slow cooker today...

Slow Cooker - The Recipe Collection

Oven blown up

I'll add your thread to the first link later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

isica1903

Oh thanks Pink-winged............I did search for an existing thread but couldn't find! Will have a look around there......thanks again for all your suggestions!

powershopper

Just a little tip for cooking pasta and rice, if you have a m/w then even easier......
1 measure rice or pasta into a bowl
2 pour a kettle of boiling water into the bowl, give a bit of a stir
3 if you have a m/w, bring back to the boil
4 switch off, put lid on bowl, give another stir
5 leave for about 15-20 mins while you have glass of wine/ make the salad/watch tv etc

this method WORKS. i always cook this way, saves gas/electric/steaming up the kitchen.....
enjoy your new one..:T

Bronnie

Now is the perfect time to get your kids to pull together and start eating 'all-in-one meals'! No cupboards to go grazing in and presume your stocks will be low, so they're not going to have many options! Bite the bullet and let them get on with it for a few days! Might make life easier in the future!!

touch*my*food*feel*myfork

Do you have a george foreman or can borrow one, we had a new kitchen fitted three years ago and found this really helped - you can then still do burgers, chicken breast etc

also a steamer for the veg/fish - you can then still have a 'normal' dinner

daska

Bronnie wrote: »

Now is the perfect time to get your kids to pull together and start eating 'all-in-one meals'! No cupboards to go grazing in and presume your stocks will be low, so they're not going to have many options! Bite the bullet and let them get on with it for a few days! Might make life easier in the future!!

I'm with Bronnie on this one. Why should your kids give you extra work when you've got the hassle of having your kitchen out of order. They will eat when they get hungry... just don't have lots of snacks lying around. Then, when your new kitchen is up and running, they'll be used to the concept of eating what they're given and you'll be able to cook a wider variety of meals. I had to re-educate my stepdaughter when she came to live with us, her rules were: no cheese, no nuts, no mushrooms, nothing with sauce, no fish, no lamb, no this, no that... in the end I started saying no and we had tantrums (she was 10) for a few days and now she eats everything - even if she doesn't really like it!