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Food/Recipes

Dinner ideas with no cooking facilities

24 replies

Eminybob · 20/03/2018 13:24

Our kitchen has been ripped out awaiting a new one.
All we have access to is a kettle and toaster (never had a microwave, was supposed to be borrowing a camping stove from a colleague but not been able to pick up due to snow)

Apart from sandwiches and salads, what can we eat?

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WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo · 20/03/2018 13:29

Couscous
Instant soup or noodle type things

You could get those reusable bags to make toasties in.

How long is it for?

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sashh · 20/03/2018 13:31

Get a slow cooker and a steamer - you should be able to get both for £30.

Put fish or chicken in foil and cook alongside veg in the steamer.

Slow cooker, obviously stews but also baked potatoes, joints and even steamed puddings.

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Avebury · 20/03/2018 13:41

Honestly I think I'd buy a cheap microwave

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Eminybob · 20/03/2018 13:54

I was thinking of getting a microwave. Although we have lived without one for years I bet we’d get use out of it even when the kitchen is back on.

It’s probably going to be the rest of this week and most of next week. We have meals out/with relatives planned in so it’s obly going to be a few nights that we are completely stuck.

Noodles and cous cous are great ideas thanks.

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CMOTDibbler · 20/03/2018 13:56

Rice noodles cook in just boiling water, then you can add tuna/sweetcorn/mayo or cooked chicken/avocado/bought cooked bacon. Or a stir in sauce or pesto(stand the jar in boiling water to warm it up a bit) with cooked chicken and some peas you've heated up in a couple of changes of boiling water.

But I'd get a microwave or a slow cooker - cheap on Amazon, or put a request on a local FB site and I'm sure someone would have one

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NannyR · 20/03/2018 13:59

You can buy single "burner" induction hobs that just plug in.
Can you barbecue outside?

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WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo · 20/03/2018 14:09

You can also cook potato waffles in the toaster.

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Eminybob · 20/03/2018 14:22

All great ideas, thanks so much. Yes we have a BBQ didn’t think of that!
We had toaster waffles last night Grin

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Orangedaisy · 20/03/2018 14:23

Take away.....

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Eminybob · 20/03/2018 14:26

Yeah we’ve got a couple of those planned in!

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picklemepopcorn · 20/03/2018 14:26

Toaster bags are good, you can do poached eggs in them, beans, as well as toasted sandwiches. Depends how many you are cooking for, though! Are there any kitchen gadgets you fancy? An instant pot, or a sear and slow cooker? I love my hot air fryer...

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Eminybob · 20/03/2018 14:28

You can poach eggs in the toaster?Mind=blown!

I don’t know about a slow cooker, I’ve never seen the appeal of preparing a meal and starting cooking in the morning before work!

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sashh · 20/03/2018 14:34

I’ve never seen the appeal of preparing a meal and starting cooking in the morning before work!

You can do all the prep the night before. Or prep and freeze in a SC liner - put it in the sc (switched off) overnight to defrost then switch on in the morning.

Joints - switch on sc, put joint of meat in sc, put lid on and go out. This takes less time than boiling a kettle.

Do you have a raclette?

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TonicAndTonic · 20/03/2018 14:42

If you'd supermarket does them, get a rotisserie chicken, a pack of tortilla wraps, a bag of salad and mayo or your favourite dip and make chicken wraps. No cooking facilities needed!

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Steamcloud · 20/03/2018 14:46

We have a microwave/small convection oven combined for when we don't want to put on the big oven. It's really useful. But failing that, I don't think you can beat a microwave when you are renovating.
It allows you to heat up soups, beans, ready meals, make scrambled eggs and even baked spuds at a pinch.

Loads of pouched ready meals (rice and veg and curries) available at the supermarket that you can heat up in moments. Keep a large stack of fresh fruit available to counteract the ping suppers! Honestly, having been through the hell that is ongoing renovation (still am) this is by far the easiest solution.

Other than that: Aiki noodles, three bean salads in tins, supermarket salads?

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newnamenewnamenewname · 20/03/2018 15:21

Have you got a barbecue? As long as it isn't raining, it can be quite fun barbecuing in the cold.

You can poach fish, boil eggs, cook fresh pasta (the type that has a cooking time of a couple of minutes), anything with a short cooking time like the pre cooked rice/lentil pouches for microwaves by pouring boiling water from the kettle on them in a pan then covering in foil/putting the lid on. You can also cook things in a thermos flask in a similar way. So you could make a lentil curry or bean chilli with rice, ravioli tossed in olive oil with fresh parmesan, poached salmon and shop bought potato salad.

Shepherd's soup is another good one that you can adapt to kettle cooking - chicken bouillon flavoured with garlic puree, with toasted crusty bread spread with garlic butter in the soup (like croutons), torn up serrano ham (or you can use cooked bacon or ham hock that you get for sandwiches), and a soft boiled egg (it should be poached but it's easier to boil an egg using the "kettle" method than poach).

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picklemepopcorn · 20/03/2018 15:54

The sear slow cooker gives you a frying option. I never sear before slow cooking. While I'm eating my toast I bung in some frozen chicken pieces, sweet corn, onions, white wine or tin of tomatoes. Put it on low. C9me home and put some cream in and eat with bread. Or a tin of tomatoes, one of mixed beans, some smoked sausage and/or salami and/or chorizo. Eat with bread... etc. I don't 'prepare a meal' as such. I just throw in some suitable ingredients.

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Weedsnseeds1 · 24/03/2018 13:07

Electric pressure cooker?
Or look up instructions for a hobo stove. They work very well for heating soup etc.

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snewsname · 24/03/2018 13:10

You can but gas camping stoves for about a tenner, or electric cooking hobs from Wilko for about £15.

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Knittedfairies · 24/03/2018 13:10

Or an electric hotplate?

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snewsname · 24/03/2018 13:13

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wilko-double-electric-hob-1200-2662104

or you could but it doesn't appear on their website now

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kateandme · 24/03/2018 13:57

id get a microwave the are so useful.
crumpets.
waffles
you can toast thin slices of sweet potato.
do you have a car.you can cook eggs on the heat off engine.and salmon!
if u got microwave you can use it for those instant poaches.cooking veg.pasta.mostly everything can be done in modern microaves.they aren't the health no no they were once thought to be just a different way to cook things.

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Orangettes · 26/03/2018 21:53

bbq?

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