To ask what you use you microwave for?

[Afternooninthepark]

At 47 and having lived together for 23 years, dh and I have never had or felt the need for a microwave.
However, ds (15) is badgering me to get one, he says he can make things quicker in it and in the future when we are away or out he and his sister can make quick and easy meals for themselves.
I remember having one when we lived at home and it was only used for heating beans and defrosting stuff.
They are obviously still popular as they are for sale everywhere.
So what do you use yours for?
Does anyone actually make proper meals in there microwave?

[treefox3513]

I use mine multiple times daily! I use it for

Sterilising baby bottles and dummies
Warming up toddler milk
Porridge
Cooking frozen veg
Cooking potatoes through before crisping in oven
Reheating leftovers
Soup
Popcorn
Heating up batch meals cooked at the weekend
The odd ready meal
Nachos grande

[Petitmum]

Cooking popadoms without having to deep fry!
Re heating leftovers / heating meals I have frozen - I batch cook/ defrosting meat in a hurry/ warming milk for drinks/ melting cheese to spread on toast /

[Wotsitsarecheesy]

I use mine loads, for the same things others do. But my teen DCs make "5-minute chocolate cakes" in them all the time. And I mean that. They make them in a pyrex jug rather than a mug, and I often come down in the morning to find they made one the night before, after I have gone to bed. That or cereal (or both) seems to be a standard late night snack in our house. With either ice cream or custard (also made in microwave). DC1 was relieved to find his Uni catered halls still had a microwave for his use, purely because he'd miss his 5 min chocolate cakes so much!

[Quaagars]

I don't use it much, but when I do

• porridge
  
• quick jacket spud and beans
  
• tins of soup
  
• the occasional ready meal

[BackforGood]

Sterilising baby bottles, though I am guessing this isn't what your 15 year old son is intending Blimey, yes, it was invaluable in those day - though I guess OP doesn't want to hear that at the moment

@Strawberrycreamsundae - I would love to know how to poach an egg in a microwave..... I do my scrambled in there, but never knew you could poach. DO you mind sharing how. please ?

I've thought of other things, since my previous post:
scramble eggs
porridge
Cake in a mug
Boiled rice in 2mins
melting chocolate for cooking
melting the chocolate in a pain au chocolate
defrosting the wonderful cubes of spinach you get from farm foods
steaming salmon
dc use to make popcorn
(I'll be very 'unMN' and admit to) the occasional ready meal
Defrosting / heating frozen meals from batch cooking
warming through naans, or wraps
Heating through tinned stuff - baked beans, soup, custard, rice pudding - all saves washing up the saucepans and saves standing
there , stirring

Ours is used every day, usually several times. I'd go without n oven before going without a microwave.

(not cooking) - heating my wheat bag (in place of a hot water bottle)

[Lackadaisically]

Use ours multiple times a day.

-heating milk as DS won't drink it cold
-heating milk so we don't need to faff with the frother on the coffee machine
-takes almost an hour off of the cooking time of jacket potatoes.
-beans
-leftovers
-soups
-DH apparently like warm soggy sausage rolls
-almost all junk/convenience food is microwaved
-popcorn
-mug cakes
-custard/rice puddings

I've never not had a microwave, you must use so many saucepans! If I have leftover bolognaise for example I can microwave it in the Tupperware it's already in and not dirty a pan. The whole point of cooking double portions sometimes is a night off of having to cook later in the week, would feel less of a night off if I had pots to wash!

[Khajit]

Mostly baked potatoes, baked beans, porridge, cooking veg, warming milk for kids, heating leftovers (i find the oven and hob dry things out more) heat packs when I get a sore back.

I've managed without one before but they are handy and definitely save time. I've never cooked a full meal in one, but I always use it for something while I'm preparing dinner.

[yikesanotherbooboo]

Heating sachets of rice
Melting cheese on nachos
That's about it.
The rice sachets are handy but I wouldn't miss the microwave if it wasn't there.

[BreatheAndFocus]

Jacket potatoes
Porridge
Jam sponge pudding making
Cooking fish
Cooking eggs
Making hot chocolate
Reheating hot drinks
Heating soup/beans/leftovers
Defrosting bread, etc
Microwave meals
Sterilising baby bowls, etc

I need to buy a new one soon. I did wonder if I could do without one and get extra work surface space (small kitchen) but I use it a lot really and I’d miss the convenience.

[JellyfishandShells]

Porridge, frozen peas, starting off jackets, reheating, Some defrosting,heating soup. It is the appliance I would miss least if it had to go but it does earn its place and specially as it is quite small ( built in)

[AdaColeman]

Every day in winter for cooking porridge.
Hot milk for cocoa
Noodles
Quick rice
Quick cous-cous or mixed grains
Steamed fish
Soup
Quick buttered leeks or mustard carrots or asparagus.
Quick apple sauce to go with pork
Quick white sauce or custard, no lumps!

I’m sure there are more!

[Shmithecat2]

Little Dish Fie Pie, baked beans, warming dinner plates, reheating cups of tea.

[thismeansnothing]

We use it to warm up milk, cook packet rice, make porridge, the odd ping meal and that's pretty much it

[AtLeastThreeDrinks]

Warming our plates for dinner, putting hot food on freezing plates (our kitchen gets very cold) is heinous. Other stuff, too, but that’s the main one. Second is probably reheating pizza

[Dee1975]

Microwave rice
Jacket pots (before putting in oven)
Beans
Porridge
Warmies (cuddly toy that can be used like a hot water bottle)
Heating leftovers

[CorianderLord]

Heating food up, making rice, melting butter, jacket potatoes, reheating coffee, heating up beans.

DP likes his food scalding so often blasts it halfway through dinner.

[Pipandmum]

Cooking bacon
Heating up baked beans
Steaming veg
Heating pre baked potatoes
Heating up soup

Makes all of the above quicker and you dont have to clean a pot afterwards.

[NotMeNoNo]

Heating tinned soup, beans etc or packet rice. Milk for hot chocolate. Defrosting portions of things and reheating them. Cook peas and sweetcorn. Defrosting meat for dinner if not planned ahead,
. Melt butter or chocolate for baking. Heating wheat bags.

We get our moneys worth out of it. But it would be a struggle to make entire main meals.

[cctvrec]

Warming leftovers, defrosting stuff, doing the peas or sweetcorn for dinner, beans and tomatoes for a fry up, warming pies for lunch and their best use, Chicago Town Pizzas. There is nothing like those microwave pizzas. Delicious!

[willowmelangell]

Used a couple of times a day.
Mainly reheating leftovers.
Warming naan bread or poppadoms.
Cold tea.
If the urge takes me, a golden syrup sponge pudding. Packet sponge mix in microwave bowl on top of golden syrup. 4-5 minutes, done.
Microwave rice packets.
Steam veg packets or chopped veg.
I remember my Mum had to heat a plate of cold food up by putting the plate over a pan of boiling water. Dried it out.

[Plussizejumpsuit]

Feels a bit humble braggy that you don't have a microwave and couldn't fathom the point of one. Or maybe I'm being harsh?

[unimaginativeusernamehere]

Feels a bit humble braggy that you don't have a microwave and couldn't fathom the point of one. Or maybe I'm being harsh?

Why would someone brag about not having a microwave?

[VirginiaWolverine]

I didn't know you could heat plates in the microwave. How do you do it?

[MrsBennetsnerves]

Heating milk for coffee as I use a cafetiere, heating soup, jacket potatoes, reheating batch cooked meals, porridge, cooking rice. I'll also scramble eggs in them. I can do all of these tasks another way but when I choose the microwave it's usually less messy or faster.

[TartanDMs]

Have always had a combination microwave but have only known how to use it as a normal one. I use it for:

Jacket potatoes
Ready meals
Soup
Scrambled eggs

My mother uses hers for loads more - making cheese sauce and gravy, defrosting things, custard, bacon, it is used almost every day. She also uses her range oven, but the microwave is more convenient.