Doing without a microwave - do you? Can I?

System

If hubby ate his meals when it was cooked we wouldn't need one at all. I asked him ages ago if could have a halogen cooker and he bought me a new microwave instead.:mad:

As far as my microwave is concerned, its a waste of worktop space.

BAGGY

I use mine daily. The kids like warm (not hot) milk on cereal so that gets nuked.
Cold cups of tea get nuked, baked beans or tinned veg, corn on the cob, frozen peas, fruit for crumble base, cheese sauce, ping dinners, boiled pot wedges get started and bunged in the oven to crisp. Cant remember any more but it's been on about 5 times so far today.

rchj4

My microwave had it's 30th birthday this summer !!! I couldn't manage without it and it's like a member of the family !
It was bought in 1983 and is quite large and stainless steel lined . At the time in seemed to cost a lot of money .
It's used daily for cooking & heating all kinds of stuff . I make chillis , bolognese sauce and soups in it . There's no worry about the timing as it switches off automatically . I also do preliminary food prep in it , like softening onions or making meatballs before putting them in my slo - cooker in a sauce .
We even use it for heating up the dinner plates . 2 mins for two large pottery ones works fine.

Last year my microwave also had the 'blue flash & smell of burning ' sydrome . I found a microwave repair shop and it was mended for about £25 within 24 hours. I was told that the 'wave deflector ' needed replacing . It was obviously very straightforward to do.
My advice is to look after your microwave by wiping it out regularly after use and don't be too ready to bin it if there's a problem .
Regards to all , Jenny.

ZsaZsa

VRose wrote: »

Popcorn on the hob.
Large pan with lid, enough oil to coat bottom of pan, throw in kernels put lid on after, shake pan a bit to cover kernels in oil, turn on medium heat, shake pan to make sure all the kernels get the heat, take off heat when the popping stops, then season.

Happy Popping!

This is how I do mine, but i melt a little bit of butter and golden syrup, and pour over when its finished popping. Mmmmmm...


We gave away our microwave a few weeks ago and not missed it a bit. It was only ever used to warm plates while waiting for a takeaway and I was desperate for the worktop space.

katydo12

me and my hubby have lived together for nearly four years and we have never had a microwave, only time I miss it is when we make a full English breakfast coz you end up with a ton of pans!

Teg-Rem

I would completely miss mine if I didn't have one. We are a busy household of 4 and everyone eats at different times. I cook 4 meals every night, some of them different always and eat mostly on my own because everyone else is a t work or commuting and don't get in till late. Hubby works the 4-12mn shift so eats his next day. If I didn't have a microwave don't know how we would all eat when we need to, it would be impossible to keep everthing hot and eat freshly. I also use it to cook with aswell, so absolutely could not do without mine, have had it for some 26 years now, so waiting with trepidation to see how much longer It will last, would have to go out the same day to get another if it broke!!!

DianneB

My original microwave broke about 5 years ago and I really didn't miss it at all, had to get another one as my children complained they couldn't heat baby food quickly and easily when they visited. Got that one for £10 from cheapcycle and when it goes that's it, no more, I only use it for softening butter and it takes up a lot of work surface just to do that!! Visiting children (all adults now) do use it for beans/soup/pies but I won't miss having to scrape the gunge off the sides after them.

dandy-candy

I had one at my parents home but I left there 22 years ago and have never had one since. I mainly used theirs for defrosting but my oven has a cold fan setting which I use now. It takes a lot longer of course, but I just have to be organised and plan ahead!

chunkychocky

I've never had a microwave. Can't stand the things. When I eat food that has been microwaved I can ALWAYS tell because it tastes vile. Jacket potatoes are the worst. I can even tell with a jacket potato if it has been 'finished off' in the oven too.

Justamum

We've recently moved and our range cooker is rubbish. I've been given a combination microwave oven so I'm having to struggle along with it until I can get a real oven. I tried baking bread in it today purely on the convection setting. After ten minutes the top was burned, so I ended up having to turn the tins on their sides to finish off. Not impressed. I then cooked pasta and a lentil sauce to go with it. Fiddly, and the lentils ended up boiling over.

It does have a grill function too, and that's ok for cheese on toast. However when I do get a real oven I can see this going to a charity shop.