Making the Most of Your Microwave Oven

Most folks simply do not make the most of their microwave ovens. When they first came out, many were afraid of them and for good reason. It was too easy to overcook food to charcoal, spots appeared on unevenly cooked food like leprosy, tomato paste spattered across the already darkened window, and cheese held like glue to the base-plate. The timing dial was always crusted over and confusing. Over time, microwaves lost their heat producing ability and productivity as a useful kitchen appliance.

Today, microwaves are smaller, more efficient, easier to clean and have wonderful features like touch control, rotating base plates and designer colors. The microwave can now cook just about anything and I am convinced there are certain foods that even taste better when done in the microwave. I use my microwave all the time. Here are a few ideas to get you started on how to make the most of your microwave oven and some of my favorite microwave foods.

Reminder: Make sure your microwave's clock is set, the presettings are working, that the air vents have plenty of room around them to breath and that the microwave is spotlessly clean inside and out. The turntable or tray should be clean and revolving properly.

COOKWARE
So long as you have the right container for cooking in the microwave, the food will turn out fine. I try to avoid plastic or stoneware that claims its microwave safe and use those black containers that microwavable foods originally come in from the grocery store. For example, those deep, large black containers that family-style frozen dinners like casseroles come in can be washed out and reused for cakes or most anything. The frozen meal containers with built-in dividers are great for reheating leftovers in the microwave. Cooking foods in black containers specifically designed for freezer-to-microwave cooking, will assure better results than all-purpose type dishes and cookware. Plastics by their very nature are made with chemicals and are therefore not too trustworthy.

Kitchen supply stores sell marvelous trays and pans for the microwave that help brown chops and steak. Use caution when handling these since they are designed to absorb the heat greater into the special areas on the trays - that is what helps the browning process.

EGGS/SAUSAGE
I probably use my microwave to cook eggs more than any other food. There is good reason for this. Eggs are very messy and can stick to regular fry pans. So long as you whip them up scrambled before setting the buttered dish into the microwave and make sure the turntable is free to revolve, the eggs will come up fluffy, airy and tasty. Add salt, pepper, cheese or other omelet ingredients into the whipped eggs and they will turn out to be fluffy, tasty omelets in less than 3 minutes. Pass on the bacon and use those little sausage links or chubs of ground sausage which can be drained and added to other foods like casseroles.

CORN ON THE COB
Frozen vegetables cook up in no time, but fresh vegetables taste even better than steamed when cooked properly in the microwave. For corn on the cob, I make sure they are husked first and cut the stems off. Wrap in a damp paper towel (preferably towels without ink or color to them) and set for about 4 minutes. This saves you having to wait for water to boil, grabbing the tongs to bob for the cobs in the boiling water, and waiting for the cobs to drain.

MEATBALLS
Many foods sold in the frozen food isles of your grocery store are made to order for the microwave. You do not have to settle for frozen dinners. Create your own masterpieces by starting with the right meats. I like those bags of frozen readymade Italian flavored meatballs. They can be added to pasta, put in a sandwich, used as appetizers, or crushed up into a casserole. You save money and time by not having to buy and mash the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings in a bowl and then trying to roll the little balls around in a fry pan of grease in order to get them evenly cooked through. Just pop the little premade meatballs into the microwave, preferably in a circle in a circular pan, for about 4 minutes and you are done.

If you like to do your own, adding ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce or ketchup, and instant rice together make great little "porcupine balls."

CHICKEN
One of my favorite frozen foods are the bags of unbreaded chicken breasts and in particular the chicken tenders. Place two in a microwave tray , set for 2.5 minutes on high, then flip over for another 2 minutes and you are done. These little chicken strips, so long as they are not coated or breaded, turn out juicy and tender. The chicken can then go into sandwiches or cut up into casseroles or soup. The best part about these chicken tenders are they are total meat and no bones, usually white meat or rib meat preground. You don't have to wait for the oven, clean the grease, debone the chicken, or figure out what to do with the neck parts.

BREAD
Usually pasta and breads do not do well in the microwave. They do make cake mixes that are designed specifically for microwave cooking, but I would pass. However, if you like fresh bagettes, croissants, cinnamon buns and French Bread with garlic butter, then the microwave will take your store-bought bakery goodies and literally restore them to life. My neighbors and I go to the day-old bread stores and freeze our pastries. Defrost, put in the microwave for 10 seconds or less and the yeast breads taste just as warm and wonderful as if they came from the bakery. The thicker the bread the better the results will be. Butter melts deliciously into the bread quickly, but watch out for glazes which can harden or drip off if microwaved too long. Breadsticks should be watched closely.

PIZZA
The best pizzas for the microwave are the mini or individual size pizzas which come with their own baking pans. Remove from the cellophane, place the pizzas on top of the silver coated square cardboard pans and cook for about 4 minutes or until the cheese melts completely. The baking pans assure that the bottoms of the little pizzas will brown and the crusts will be crunchy.

CHEESE
Most folks know about Velvetta on nachos for a quick appetizer, but all kinds of cheeses melt wonderfully in the newer microwaves so long as they are not overcooked and evenly spaced around the food. I like the preshredded, assorted cheeses that come in resealable bags in the dairy and butter aisles.

HOT DOGS
I am not a huge fan of these nitrate mystery meats, but it is fun to watch those "plump when you cook em" Ballpark beef hotdogs cook in the microwave.

S'MORES
Can't go camping. Try S'mores in the microwave. Dark chocolate square and large marshmellow on top of a graham cracker...yum.

AUGRATIN POTATOES
These box mixes do surprisingly well in the microwave because they use moisture, vegetables and cheese in the ingredients. If completely stirred and sauteed, most mixes which use cheese, creams, or other liquids like tomato sauce do pretty well with the exception of macaroni. Pasta does not, so pass on those mac and cheese microwavable meals.

GENERAL
The microwave is ideal for melting butter, chocolate and cheese for adding to other foods and heating water for tea or soup. Water heats up most vigorously and will not look like boiling water so beware, it gets very, very hot quickly and can burn if spilled. For this reason I discourage parents from heating baby bottles in the microwave unless they are prepared to test the temperature on their forearms to their own peril. Microwavable cereals like oatmeal work well enough. Popcorn is a standard stand-by snack and easily cooks in the microwave if you make sure to spread out the bag, knead the hard kernals and butter mix together with your fingers from the outside of the bag, place it with the proper "downside" down - the bag will tell you, and make sure you only hit the "Popcorn" setting on the timer. Make sure the bigger bags have room to turn on the turntable freely or they get stuck.

CLEANING
If your microwave has a turntable and it should, this can be removed and run through the dishwasher. Wipe the entire ceiling, floor and walls of your microwave with a clean damp cloth. Be careful NOT to use harsh cleansers. Don't forget to clean out the air vents and window ledges.