Make the most of your microwave – Three micro meals in micro time
June 14th, 2015
Are you a full-time student? Or perhaps, a busy working mum? If so, allow us to explain how your microwave is actually your best friend.
The microwave is often labelled as simply a source for reheating leftovers.
However, it can also be used to create quick, delicious dishes from scratch – for any time of the day.
If hunger is hammering on your stomach after a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is slave over the stove. Why rummage around in the pantry and wait an hour for the oven to do it’s cooking, when you can have a hot microwavable meal in less than five minutes?
So here are three tasty and time saving meals you can prepare in your trusty microwave.
Breakfast: Poached eggs
As the old saying goes, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.
Poached eggs are a ‘cracking’ option for people are trying to eat healthy and want an alternative to fried or scrambled. They are packed with protein and vitamin D.
If you would like a little extra sleep in the morning, try out this ‘eggs-cellent’ recipe. And yes, the results are much better than the puns used in this article.

Image courtesy of LifeIsGood on Food.com
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1⁄8 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1⁄3 cup water
- salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Add the water and white vinegar to a 6 ounce custard cup.
2. Break egg into cup, pierce egg yolk with toothpick, and cover dish loosely with plastic wrap.
3. Place in microwave and cook for 1 minute or until desired doneness.
4. You may need to experiment with cooking times based on the wattage of your microwave and taste preference.
5. Immediately remove egg from hot water with a slotted spoon as it will continue to cook.
6. Serve with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe source- Food.com
Lunch/Dinner: Mac and Cheese
There is something painfully artificial about the orange powder that comes with packaged mac and cheese. It looks like food that astronauts would eat in space. But hey, you don’t need to put up with that kind of food on Earth!
Why not eat the real deal, with your own choice of cheese, in about the same amount of time?
The potato chips snack waiting in your pantry can now survive yet another day.

Image courtesy of kirbiecravings.com
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup elbow macaroni noodles
- 1/2 cup milk or water (milk will make the macaroni and cheese creamier)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
1. Add milk/water and noodles into an oversized mug (I used a 20 ounce mug). Place the mug on a large plate (this is to catch the overflow of water/milk that occurs when cooking). Microwave for 1 minute, then stir, making sure noodles do not stick to the bottom. Microwave for an additional 1 minute and stir again. Noodles should be almost cooked at this point and most of the liquid should be gone. How much more you need to cook will depend on your microwave. I microwaved mine an additional 30 seconds.
2. If you are using water, you may have a little water left. Pour this out. If using milk, it should be mostly gone and you can keep any that remains. Immediately add in cheese and stir until it completely coats the noodles. If you’re using very finely shredded cheese, it should completely melt. If you are using thicker shredded cheese, you may need to microwave for an additional 20 seconds and stir again before it’s uniform. Eat immediately.
Recipe source – kirbiecravings.com
Dessert: Coffee cake in a mug
Though it doesn’t sound like the healthiest of food options, this one is definitely a winner in the tastebud department.
The hardest thing about this recipe is resisting eating the cake batter before popping it in the microwave. Once you get past that, you can have this sweet treat for brunch or dessert.
Image courtesy of heatherlikesfood.com
Ingredients:
Cake batter:
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 beaten egg 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 drops vanilla extract, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
1. Stir softened butter and white sugar together in a coffee mug until fluffy; stir egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract into the butter mixture.
2. Add flour and baking powder into the mixture; stir until smooth. Mix the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and mash the butter into the mixture with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Then sprinkle it over the cake batter in the mug.
3. Cook in microwave on high for 1 minute. Then continue cooking in 10-second intervals until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Recipe source: Prudentbaby.com
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