Cooking Without a Kitchen

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

Recently, we decided to take the plunge and embark on a kitchen renovation to upgrade our current kitchen. That means my home kitchen is under construction and seeing that I have no way to bake, roast, or sauté, I thought now would be a good time to talk about some recipes you can make without coming near a hot stove. My current cooking options are limited to the toaster oven, the microwave, and the grill, with the occasional takeout meal thrown in.

While normally I don’t love to rely on the microwave for meal preparation, in this case it has saved the day many times. Although my very fascinated almost 3-year-old is too young to use the microwave (thankfully our new one will come with a child safety feature), older kids can be taught to use it safely and wisely.

Little ones love this kid friendly appliance where they can heat their food with the press of a button. Of course you’ll still have to closely supervise them. I know when I was a kid in the '80s when it was a new craze, we tried all kinds of after school “microwave experiments” including toasting/exploding marshmallows, and cooking scrambled eggs. Another one you may not want to share with the kids is that if you put a lemon in the microwave, after a minute it will start to spin faster and faster until it explodes. Not a fun mess to clean up but interesting nonetheless!

Cooking in the microwave has reminded me of some of my old college standbys. One of those food items I have rediscovered are noodles in a cup. You can also find cups of macaroni and cheese, ready to add water and microwave. Or try making homemade mac & cheese using the recipe below. You can add a bag of frozen veggies while cooking the pasta, and stir in chopped turkey or ham at the end, and you’ll have a very easy one-dish meal.

You might also want to try the scrambled egg trick –- it really is easy. Just crack an egg or two into a custard cup or mug, add a little milk, salt and pepper to taste, and beat with a fork. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, and then continue to cook in ten second intervals until the eggs are done to your liking. It’s a fast way to add some protein to your kid’s breakfast.

I haven’t tried my hand at baking in the microwave lately but a friend of mine swears by those microwavable brownie mixes for making warm brownie sundaes. It’s the perfect thing for us right now since they come with their own disposable baking trays.

Our toaster oven has seen more than its share of use lately too. We don’t have a very big one but I know that you can now find toaster ovens that can fit a small frozen pizza. One advantage is that it heats up faster than the oven— it’s perfect for snacks for hungry kids. One of my childhood favorites that can be made in the toaster oven is the pizza bagel. Simply top bagel halves with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, and any other topping you might like and toast for about 3 minutes. They are so satisfying!

So if you ever find yourself in a position of having a limited kitchen, there are many things you can do to get by, without constantly calling for takeout and pizza delivery. Also, if you are just getting started showing your kids how to cook, then some of these ideas would be helpful just to give them a feel for the kitchen and to learn how to put their own meals and snacks together!

Serves/Makes: 3

• 1 cup elbow macaroni pasta, uncooked
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut in bits
• 1 cup cubed or shredded Cheddar cheese