Its been one month since I banished our microwave to the basement and decided not to use it any more. There were a few moments when I actually said out loud "Why on earth did I do this to myself?". In reality though it only took a bit of extra thought to figure out how to heat things up. My husband thought I was a little crazy, but he has gone along with it and hasn't complained. I asked him last night if he missed the microwave and he said that he did not. I honestly do not miss it either and I'm rather surprised about that!
My tea kettle, toaster oven, and skillet have served me well. We eat a lot of leftovers, but heating them has not been as hard as I thought it might be. Here is some of what we do:
casseroles - warm in the toaster oven in a small dish (this can take a while, so plan ahead)
leftover Chinese food - heat in a skillet on the stove with a bit of extra water or oil (doesn't take long at all)
leftover spaghetti - mix sauce and noodles and bake in toaster oven
leftover noodles (the girls like noodles with butter and parmesan cheese) - boil water, dip noodles in the water for just a minute or two and then pull them out
soup - warm in a pan on the stove
heating water - use the tea kettle
heating water - use the tea kettle
leftover fajitas - heat chicken mixture in a skillet; to warm the tortilla put it over top of the pan while the mixture heats up
I have been surprised at how quickly the food heats up. It tastes better, like real food instead of rubbery and its evenly heated. The extra counter space is nice too. I've had space to keep my grain mill out and have used it to try a few new things that I'll share with you soon. Sadly though, my counter doesn't look as clean as in that photo anymore.
linked to Kichen Tip Tuesday
linked to Kichen Tip Tuesday
My family didn't have a microwave for years so not having one in my own home hasn't bothered me a bit. I think it took my husband some getting used to, though. He does think I'm funny for getting far away from it if he's using the microwave at his family's house!
ReplyDeleteI really need to just do this. I'm not sure why I'm so apprehensive. I keep telling myself that we'll just use the convection mechanism of the microwave rather than the actual microwave, but we don't. A toaster oven would definitely make the transition easier. What kind do you have??
ReplyDeleteI have a little "mini microwave" that dinner plates are almost too big for. I use it occasionally. The boys use it more than I do since they heat up meals and such.
ReplyDeleteWe're weaning ourselves off the microwave. I just got ordered a toaster oven the other day. It was free with all of my debit card reward points. yes! I hope it'll help us completely stop using the microwave. Or maybe the mw will just break again. Or get mysteriously unplugged...
ReplyDeleteI probably could live without a microwave BUT never without a toaster oven. Everything goes IN and being in TEXAS where you don't always want to heat up the whole oven it comes in handy. For those who don't know it's for much more than toast! -melting cheese on top(as in fresh grated parmesian for wonderful crunchy toast), baking egg rolls, heating left overs...(pizza), ham for a toasted ham and egg or cheese sandwhich, we do tuna on english muffins with a slice of tomato and cheese etc. My criteria for an oven?...Big enough for my square baking dish!
ReplyDeleteEmily - good, I'm not the only crazy one! lol Do you have other tips for heating foods that I haven't mentioned?
ReplyDeleteCourtney - I couldn't find the exact model, its a Black and Decker from Kohl's that cost around $40 I think? We use it all the time for so many things. I love my toaster oven!!
My family "gave" ours to our church one Sunday, and we haven't looked back! Like you, we really enjoy the extra counter space and knowing that we're not taking the risk of damaging the food that we eat.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I eat a lot of cold food...I'm weird and just don't mind it being cold! My husband hates cold food, though, so we always heat his up. We just stir fry or warm our leftovers in a pot. It really is simple once you get the hang of it. The only thing I miss is having less dishes!!!
We still have one, I just moved it to a more inconvenient spot. And I keep it unplugged. I never use it, my big kids do though, it is hard to change a lifetime habit. Slowly, slowly. I am hoping it breaks and I can just get rid of it and not replace it.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a toaster oven but it will be on my wishlist.
I never use my microwave.. but my step son 17 uses it alot... I would love to banish it.. maybe he can take it to college... OH, wait my husband had it built in the wall UGH>>
ReplyDeleteI am sending you and email but I am your partner for the swap... I am so excited to get you and picked up some muffin tins but must find you some bento things online now.. LOL
my blog is
http://nf1andpre-kwhisper.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing how you warm up leftovers without the microwave, Christy! I just happened upon your blog when I was searching for how to reheat Chinese leftovers. I got rid of our microwave in 2007 but this rental house has one, which I usually only use for popcorn. We don't have a toaster oven anymore and my husband reminded me that we "don't need everything" so I use our glass pots, stainless steel skillets and pots, crockpot, toaster, and oven.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I will enjoy looking at the rest of your blog :) God bless you and your family.