Cooking Quick Meals Using Microwave Ovens

Today's busy professionals, challenged with meeting responsibilities while needing time for relaxation at the end of the day, are finding that microwave ovens offer an inexpensive way to create delicious meals while cutting down on time-intensive preparation and cooking efforts.

Quite a few dishes can be made cheaply and easily in the microwave throughout the day. By following some simple recipes, everyone from tired business executives to late-shift janitors can enjoy comfort foods and snacks that take minutes instead of hours at a low cost.

Breakfast, Fast
Although familiar frozen microwave biscuits and calorie-laden breakfast platters are an easy option, healthier choices are viable and quick to prepare. Zap whisked seasoned eggs for one minute on high in a butter-brushed bowl, then re-whisk and cook for 30 seconds for light and fluffy scrambled eggs. Or add cheese and microwaved bacon or cooked crumbled sausage to flour tortillas, warmed between damp paper towels, for an on-the-go breakfast burrito. If a high-fiber breakfast is the goal, try a warm bowl of hearty oatmeal with chopped fruit.

Lunch in a Rush?

Soups, chilis and stews do exceptionally well in microwaves, as they won't lose too much moisture and dry out. Pair some piping hot tomato soup with a turkey club sandwich, using leftover breakfast bacon. Chopped chicken breast served with steamed broccoli over rice with lemon-pepper sauce can be made in minutes. Popular picnic staples like hot dogs and brats heat evenly when wrapped in damp paper towels and quick-steamed in the microwave, which can even bake the potatoes just right for a quick homemade potato salad side dish.

Dinner is Served

Imagination is the only limit in microwave cooking, even when it comes to making an entire meal in thirty minutes or less. So many accessories and techniques now exist for microwave chefs to achieve great results that there are few foods that can't be turned into successful dinners. From a creamy beef stroganoff over egg noodles to macaroni-and-cheese casserole, sloppy joes and chicken enchiladas, microwave ovens enable fast access to a satisfying time at the dinner table.

Tasty Treats

With less time every day to savor little things, flash cooking makes parking on the sofa with a big bowl of microwaved chocolate-topped popcorn or a cinnamon-swirled coffee mug cake an easy feat. Microwaves also allow pre-cooking to get a jump on tomorrow or defrost meat for dinner in a hurry. With reading and experimentation, mastering microwave cooking is a snap.