Kitchen being ripped out on mon, need idea's on how to cook!?

[therewearethen]

Just that really, the cooker and washing machine will have to be disconnected and out of action for hopefully just a few days, but we still need to eat so any idea's on how/what to cook would be great.

I'm going to try and set up a little mini kitchen consisting of a kettle (tea is essential in this weather!), a mini electric oven which only has 1 shelf, and we have a microwave.

We also have a slow cooker but I wont have anything to fry mince etc off on first before adding and everything I've read says you have to brown any meat before cooking to kill bacteria etc.

[shrimponastick]

Can you knock up a couple of days worth now, chilli or curry. Soup? Then just require microwave.

You can do veggies in microwave. Fish strands well in micro too.

Have you a George Foreman type grill ? Sausages and griddled veg is nice. Onion, peppers, cpurgette/

[valiumredhead]

You don't need to fry off anything in the SC except for sausages - everything else is fine!

[Pancakeflipper]

We lost our kitchen for 6 weeks last year. Go crazy now and stock up your freezer ( or your neighbours). As already suggested, soups and curries ( buy microwave rice). Also do spag bol ( serve with potato wedges instead of spaghetti)., shepherds pies etc. I had a stash of apple crumbles for puds, that with custard filled us up. Borrow a George Foreman grill - cheese toasties were good. We also ate out twice a week. Washing up in the bath is great fun ( pick the person with the bendiest back for that delight).

We also got microwave chips. Vile but my kids loved them.

[LemonEmmaP]

Microwave jambalaya is good - I have made it a few times, and it only requires a microwave! There are other dishes you can make exclusively in a microwave - there's often a feature in Easy Cook magazine along those lines, so you may find the recipes on the BBC website anyway.

[therewearethen]

Oh god I hope it doesn't take that long, I'm 33 wks pregnant and can't be doing the dishes in the bath for that long!

So I can just put raw mince in the slow cooker and it will cook through ok valiumredhead

I'll try and get some stuff cooked this weekend if I've got time so we don't have to resort to ready meals!

[Pootles2010]

Yeah you don't need to fry things off. My friend chucks whole frozen chicken breasts in there and she's not dead yet.

or you could borrow a camping stove off someone?

[valiumredhead]

Yes OP so you can do chili, bolognaise, savoury mince, beef stew with frozen dumplings ( which are amazing!) chicken casseroles, whole gammon, whole chicken, soups, stews, rice pudding!

[valiumredhead]

DO NOT USE FROZEN MEAT especially as you are pregnant. The reason being that the slow cooker takes longer than a normal oven to get up to correct temperature for killing off bacteria. It's hanging around at the stage in-between frozen and cooked for too long.

[ShakySingsMerryXmasEveryone]

Get a halogen oven, they are great

You can cook most things in it. I use mine almost every day.

[valiumredhead]

Yes but they are HUGE!

[ShakySingsMerryXmasEveryone]

Yes they are quite big but very useful.

When we had a new kitchen put in, we set up the microwave, toaster, halogen oven and kettle on the dining room table. I worked well.

Sausages, potato wedges and pizza all cook well in the halogen oven to.
Frozen mash is also very handy.

[therewearethen]

Thanks guys, is it possible to cook pasta in a microwave!? DD is a fussy eater and insists on pasta nearly everyday and without a hob to boil it on I can't see a way of cooking it?

[BikeRunSki]

You can cook pasta in m/w - i discovered this when we had our kitchen replaced a few years ago. Put it in a bowl with boiling water. Put a lid/plate on. Cook as high as you can for 10 mins. Or fresh pasta - soak in boiling water for 5 mins or so.

[BikeRunSki]

Also - frozen fish pies aren't bad, and a Morrison's cafe 2 adults can eat for a tenner and up to 2 kids eat free. And there's a lot of food too.

[DazR]

You could buy a little camping stove & gas cannister from Millets for the odd food that needs boiling (DD's pasta). Or do you know anyone who camps who could lend you a camp cooker? Slow cooker is good for raw meat and meat (my instruction book calls it the 'all in one' method) - but should be defrosted first.

[BaronessBomburst]

I didn't have a cooker for over a year when I was in my first flat - from experience you can cook just about anything in a microwave. On the other hand, for a few days I wouldn't really bother. You'll have enough going on as it is without trying to cook gormet dinners. Pasta and rice can both be microwaved. You can then use tinned vegetables, tinned pulses (lentils/ chickpeas etc) or Quorn or tofu, and jars of sauce stirred through to make quite satisfying meals with little washing up.

[Rwep]

When we were without a kitchen for a month or so, I managed quite well with microwave, toaster, kettle and my sister's slow cooker.

Might not have been the best food we ever ate, but was perfectly acceptable short term. As yours is hopefully really short-term, I'd be inclined to live off frozen convenience food TBH

[Boozeandadietjinglebell]

Paper and plastic crockery and cutlery and glasses will be your friend. We barbecued a lot, but I'm aware that's not a helpful suggestion. Microwave meals are a winner, but avoid bath washing up at all costs.

[CarpeJugulum]

This

It's the only thing that kept me sane.

[ScienceRocks]

The microwave is your friend! You can do fish, fresh pasta, jacket potatoes, nachos... The main challenge is only being able to cook one thing at a time. For the first few days, I'd probably go for:

• soup with crusty bread
• nachos (buy ready roasted chicken, salsa, guacamole and cheese and layer up)
• jacket potatoes with various toppings
• fresh pasta with pesto and salad
• scrambled eggs with toast

A sandwich toaster is a marvellous thing too. Can do all kinds of fillings - egg is a favourite here!

[sashh]

everything I've read says you have to brown any meat before cooking to kill bacteria etc

You don't need to brown meat - it would only kill bacteria on the surface, cooking kills the bacteria so put it in your mini kitchen.

If you don't have a steamer buy one - you can cook meat and fish wrapped in foil alongside veg.

Slowcooker - all sorts of stews or just roast meat and steam veg - can also be done in a microwave.

Do you like kippers - the ones in a packet can be microwaved.

[valiumredhead]

You don't need to brown a roast chicken before you cook it do you? Or diced beef? - you just bung it in the oven, it's the cooking that kills bacteria.

[bubbles1231]

use a camping stove- friends might have one to loan you.

[KnittyFoxyMa]

halogen oven!

[Tigresswoods]

When we had our kitchen done we had cous cous (made using just water from the kettle), salad & one of those roast chickens from the supermarket.