Roughing It Cooking Ideas

Nymeru

While DH is finishing up his degree, we're living 200 miles apart.  I'm here with him for the week (hooray for vacations!), but I'm running into the same issue I always have when I'm here: I don't know what to cook.  The problem is that he has no oven, no crockpot, and no toaster oven.  So I have a microwave and a stove top to work with.  I feel like I always make the same few things, which he doesn't mind because he's the fast food king when I'm not here.  However, I and want to branch out without investing another few hundred dollars in appliances that we won't have a use for in a few months when he moves back in with me.  Any ideas?

levioosa

Stew, soup, pan seared salmon with veggies, quesadillas, seared chicken, chicken dumplings.  You still have a ton of options.  

amelisha

A stovetop gives you a ton of flexibility - honestly, you can do nearly anything in a lidded saucepan or pot that you might do in the oven. What kind of food do you guys like?

My favourite one-pot meal on the stovetop is Thai curry - saute your meat of choice, add lots of vegetables, and throw in a can of coconut milk (light works fine) and a couple of tablespoons (to taste) of any kind of Thai curry paste (I buy weird single-serve packets from the local Asian market so it stays fresh but there are tons at my regular grocery store too.) Then you just let it simmer until everything is tender and in the last 3 minutes or so you can toss in some rice noodles just until they're soft. It's not authentic but it's easy and tastes great.

esstee33

Crockpots are hella cheap and would introduce a world of cooking opportunities. It would be a really good investment! 

Other than that, yeah, having a stovetop is massively helpful, because you can cook tons of stuff in a skillet. Stir fry? I just cut up some chicken tenderloins, cook until they're not going to kill me, then add some veggies (you can get frozen bags of stir fry mix, even), and some sauce. It's my lazy night go-to other than pasta. 

But also, do you like pesto? I like to make some whole wheat pasta with a scoop of pesto. That's what I'm having tonight, actually. If I have it, I add some canned tuna. You can also add chicken. Or basically any other meat. 

ETA: Also, this recipe is incredible: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/02/cajun-chicken-pasta-on-lighter-side.html

littlemushroom

Chili, tacos, spaghetti, alfredo, soup, stove top cheeseburger or tuna casserole, fajitas, microwave baked potatoes, blt or club sandwiches, double cheeseburgers, fried rice, lo mein, Korean steak or chicken... The possibilities are endless!

firebabe6519

Endless possibilities with a stove top and microwave. And for $18 you can get a cheap crock pot for more variety (and less time consuming). You can do stir fry, pastas of all sorts, chili, nachos / tacos / burritos, I've even seen a pot roast cooked on a stove top ( major time commitment though).

lc07

I pretty much cook 90% of my meals on a stovetop. I use a toaster oven or oven oven for some things but I can't think of very many things you couldn't cook on the stovetop that I could cook in a toaster oven except for baking. Granted, I have a gas stovetop so I can toast things on the open flame. What are some things you like to cook via other methods and perhaps we can help tell you how to do them on the stovetop?

theartistformerlyknownas

Baked potatoes in the microwave are great. You could load them with all kinds of things - chili, pulled barbecue or buffalo chicken that you poach on the stove top, taco meat and toppings, steamed broccoli, microwaved bacon, etc. Burgers, steaks, pork chops, etc can be pan seared, especially with a nice cast iron grill pan. One pot pasta "wonderpots" are delicious - some combo of broth with pasta and veggies that cooks all at once and makes its own sauce, and there are curry versions, Thai peanut, southwestern, Italian, etc.

CMGragain

Go to Kohl's and buy a crockpot.  They are cheap.

ShellD13

I agree with all of the other ladies - many recipes can be recreated on the stove top.  But crockpots are fairly inexpensive and will add a lot of flexiblity.

H and I love risotto, grilled sandwiches, stir fry, pasta with an endless variety of sauces, braised meats, soups, taco salads - you have a lot of options.

climbingsingle

You can lots of chicken dishes on the stove top. I do chicken marsala often. You can also do baked potatoes in the microwave and steam veggies too!