A to Z - M is for Microwave

Since building our house I still don't have a kitchen (ran out of money).  No stove, no sink, no counters, no cabinets, etc.  For right now my kitchen is set up with two tables.  On one table is my microwave, my toaster oven and my coffee pot.  That leaves just enough room in front of the small appliances for sitting plates or bowls while cooking.  On the other table is my crock pot.  It's also the one I use to prep food or eat on.

So I've had to learn to cook things in a microwave that I would normally cook on a stove, such as rice and pasta.  Here is how I do it, just in case you ever can't use your stove.

Microwave Rice

Use the biggest bowl that will fit in your microwave (I use glass, it gets very hot, but won't melt, use potholders).
Put in your rice and water (I typically do 1 cup rice, 2 cups water)
Add salt to taste
Cover the bowl (I use a paper plate as a lid lol)
Cook in microwave on high for approx. 25 minutes.  If you pull it out and there is still water just put it back in for a few minutes.
Take out, fluff with a fork and eat!
It's so simple and makes perfect rice!

Microwave Pasta

My favorite pasta is cheese filled tortellini, so I'll share how to cook it.  All pasta varies a lot and will take some adjustments.

I again use my biggest bowl.  Fill with however much water it takes to cover the amount of pasta you want to cook, but don't over fill or it will boil over in your microwave.

Add salt!!  Very important.  I read somewhere this prevents the water from exploding... how does water explode??  I haven't had that happen because I add salt lol.

Cover the bowl (again I use a paper plate)

Now heat the water in the microwave until it's very hot.  This varies depending on the strength of your microwave and the amount of water.  For a full package of tortellini I fill my bowl about halfway and heat it for seven minutes.  You can supposedly make the water boil, but mine doesn't.  As long as there is steam coming off of it or some movement in the water it should be good to go.

Add pasta (I put the whole package of tortellini in frozen).

Stir

Cook until pasta is tender.  For my tortellini it's about seven minutes.  To make sure the cheese on the inside is hot I let it sit in the microwave undisturbed for an additional five minutes after cooking.

The tortellini comes out tender and warm.  I then add the Alfredo sauce and heat back up since my sauce is usually cold.

All done!  Enjoy!


For spaghetti it took longer than seven minutes.  I broke the spaghetti in half so it would fit under the water, then cooked it, checking every few minutes until it was how I like it.  If you cook too long it turns gummy and mushy so check often!!  The key is to IMMEDIATELY drain the water!  If you leave it setting it soaks up the water until it's all nasty.  I ruined a whole bowl of macaroni by letting it sit too long.

It takes some trial and error (especially the pasta), but it's been so nice to have two of my favorite dishes without a stove.  :)  Have fun!