Tell me your favourite no-kitchen recipes!

[ChiefWiggumsBoy]

So we're having a new kitchen fitted and naturally we've been let down by some of our contractors <le sigh>

I have a slow cooker, a toastie maker, a microwave and could probably get an airfryer for cheap if needed.

Although I have a slow cooker, I have rarely used it in the last ten years as I couldn't find any I liked enough to keep making, so I REALLY need some inspiration.

Hopefully this will only be an issue for days rather than weeks but here's hoping some of you can spark some inspiration for me!

Slow cooker:

Stewing steak, shopped tinned tomatoes, finely chopped onions, minced garlic and ginger, tablespoonful each of vinegar and mango chutney and a heaped tablespoon of madras curry powder makes a good basic curry. Add some spinach and peas if you like, in the final hour of cooking. Serve with naan bread

Chopped chicken breast or skinless boneless thighs, crushed lemongrass stem, minced ginger, fresh chillies, lime zest coconut milk, tablespoon of peanut butter, sweet chilli sauce, baby sweet corn, sliced red pepper and mangetout or sugar snaps makes a good Thai curry. You can add Thai green curry paste too but I don't as am allergic to it. You could serve it with microwaved rice.

Chopped onions, red peppers, tomatoes, cubed butternut squash, chickpeas, smoky paprika, garlic paste and chunks of chorizo is good served with couscous or crusty bread.

When I was without a working kitchen I found the microwave steam bags invaluable! A piece of salmon cooked in 2 minutes, that with some ready prepped veg was perfect!
I also discovered that my 3yr-old microwave was a combi so could use the oven function- I had never known that! To be honest, I only really used it as a microwave and still do.

On Eat Well for Less (BBC1) last night they made a 1 pot spaghetti and meatballs recipe which should work in a slow cooker and a chilli that went straight into the slow cooker. www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b0520lz9/recipes

If you have an air fryer you can cook so many things you really don't miss not having a cooker

These are boss, keep em coming!

@VintageGibbon You have picked out literally all the stuff I have in my freezer and cupboards so that's at least three meals taken care of, thanks.

@GeorgesMarvelousCalpol interesting I will look on the Asda website now. I've only seen the rice and veg.

@pumpkinpie01 my husband has been on about getting an airfryer for ages (we had one but it was tiny, so not hugely helpful for a family of 5) but I just don't see the benefit when we really need the space of an actual oven? If we're still in this predicament this time next week though I might change my mind!

@emmathedilemma bookmarked that page, thanks.

@ChiefWiggumsBoy
I think these are the steam bags I used. Just pop in a piece of salmon, a bit of seasoning and Bob's your uncle 😋

www.amazon.co.uk/Medium-quickasteam-Microwave-steam-Cooking/dp/B06WWMTZ1Q/ref=asc_df_B06WWMTZ1Q/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=232019883591&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11539533630356701094&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9047193&hvtargid=pla-700417406125&psc=1

Apologies for the ugly link 😖

If it's only a couple of days, I'd cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker (or, frankly, probably just buy a whole cooked rotisserie chicken). Cooked chicken with vegetables steamed in microwave, Chicken salad with nice bread, chicken/mayo toasties etc.

If longer, stews/casseroles as per suggestions above with potatoes or microwave rice packets.

Hot smoked salmon works well - eat cold or microwave for a minute. We usually just have wilted spinach, rice and creme-fraiche so could be microwave friendly too.

When we had this, I actually found the lack of a proper sink harder than the cooker. Have you thought about cleaning veg, washing up etc? Meals that minimise the amount of washing needed were a boon.

@Cokehead we've got water, it's the electrics (I mean the specific cooker switch) we don't have so we're ok on that front.

@Triffid1 hopefully should only be till Monday but who know . It's taken literally months and so many enquiries just to get tradesmen to come round and quote let alone actually agree to anything. God I hate having work done.

@GeorgesMarvelousCalpol thanks for that - it was the first one that came up on google so glad it's the right one!

Do your DC get a hot meal at school at lunchtime? (You mentioned family of 5 so I presume 3 DC).
Mine do so during the week we have lots of 'picky teas'

Potato waffles (can be toasted!) with beans and peas
Scrambled egg on toast (toaster, microwave)
Pitta, ham, cucumber
Cheese and crackers
Ham and crisp sandwiches (!), apple and cucumber
Boiled eggs and soldiers
Poached fish with 'rainbow rice' (ready cooked rice in a bag that you just microwave with some freezer mixed veg in). All in microwave. Add some sort of pesto-y sauce to the fish for adults.

I made pulled pork in my slow cooker today, you can either follow a recipe or use a packet mix. Once the pork is cooked and shredded you can use it in lots of ways........wraps, with rice and salad etc

Do you have a bbq? That would give you loads more options.

@WineIsMyCarb mine are 13, 13 and 10 and don't have a hot dinner at school anymore - plus the older ones need something more substantial really. That being said, salmon pesto pasta is one of our quick go-to meals.

@BlancmanegeBunny that's a really good call, now I think about it, pulled pork was about the only thing I really liked out of the slow cooker. Bonus - any leftovers will be good in school lunches!

@AtleastitsnotMonday we don't have one yet but I'm going to go out tomorrow and try and get one. We only moved to this house in October an didn't have a garden before and regardless of kitchen state I genuinely can't wait!

Definitely get a hot plate to give you more options - you can even make a ‘stove top’ pizza. I would choose a hot plate over an air fryer and I’m addicted to my air fryer

@Treecloudtree like a countertop hob? I've only ever read about hotplates in books with boarding houses and just realised I don't know what they are

Jar of salsa, chicken breast on top in the slow cooker. Cook for some hours. Shred, fill wrap with cheese and microwave rice and some lettuce.

Frozen chips or battered foods are good cooked in air fryer which, being sealed, protects everything from plaster dust and it's nice to have one hot element if you are eating a lot of cold food:

• frozen chips, naice ham, salad
• frozen chips, scampi in batter or frozen fish (cooked in microwave) peas in microwave
• good quality breaded chicken breast in burger with gherkins, sliced tomatoes, salad, dollop of mayo- ditto fish finger sandwiches!

• veg soup for lunches in soup maker (again, very easy & sealed)

• deserts = lots of fresh or tinned fruit & ice cream

I had no idea potato waffles could be toasted. I will remember that when DS is back from uni and heats up the oven for half a day to cook two potato waffles for his snack!

I have a counter-top induction hob I'd be happy to lend to a friend if I knew they needed it.

From university - fresh pasta can be cooked easily in the microwave. You can do a good dish with ready made meatballs in the slow cooker plus onion, garlic, a stock cube, preferred vegetables, then either a jar of pasta sauce or a tin of tomatoes plus some tomato puree, herbs and ideally a few chunks of butternut squash or sweet potato to thicken up the sauce.

Bolognese also works in the slow cooker just reduce the liquids you add or it will be sloppy.

If it's just til Monday though I think I'd make pulled pork and buy a rotisserie chicken and be done with it.

If your slow cooker is the large oval sort you can do a whole chicken in it. Put a couple of bay leaves at the bottom of the pot, put the chicken on top, sprinkle with whatever seasonings you like and cook on high for 4-5 hours. It will be ready when the joints feel very loose, but you can also check that juices run clear.

The skin won't be beautifully crisp like in an oven roast, but the meat will be wonderfully tender. The rest of the veg can be microwaved, though you can surround the chicken with peeled, potatoes (whole if small, halved or quartered if larger) and you end up with potatoes that have been stewed in chicken soup - yum!

You can also make jacket potatoes in the slow cooker. (You can make them much faster in the microwave, but they taste vastly better from the slow cooker.) Again, about 4-5h on high. I prick and rub in a little oil, but don't wrap in foil.

Both of these meals can be cooked on low for about 7h.

Thanks all, I have meal planned for a week with the hope I won’t need it for that long. I’ve also ordered a portable hob thing - it was only £40 and will be delivered tomorrow - but I have plans till Monday that won’t need it so I can send it back if not needed.

if I get desperate I’ll be getting an air fryer!