Foodie Friday: Microwave cooking 2.0

This summer, when I was trying to beat the heat, I used my microwave more often. It worked well, keeping my kitchen and the whole house a little cooler. I was amazed because I’d never used the microwave to cook things like rice and pasta. Now the temperatures outside are closer to the freezing mark but I’m still exploring what I can cook in the microwave. Today I’m tackling meat.

When I heat food in the microwave, the meat can dry out a bit, making it a little tough and chewy, so I was worried that cooking the meat from scratch by this method wouldn’t work well. I was also concerned that I wouldn’t cook the raw meat long enough and cause someone to get sick when they eat it! Nevertheless, I decided to try cooking spaghetti and meatballs, one of my family’s favourite meals, in the microwave. I have to say, besides microwave cooking being quick, the other bonus is there are less pots to clean up after. I like that!

Microwave Meatballs

Makes 30 small meatballs

Ingredients:

• 450 grams (1 lb) ground beef
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup of minced onion or 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 garlic clove, minced or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 teaspoons total of any of all of these dried herbs: basil, oregano, parsley
• ½ cup quick oats or dried bread crumbs or crushed crackers
• 1 egg

Instructions:

Step 1: Microwave the meatballs

1. Combine all ingredients until they are well mixed with equal amounts of quick oats throughout the meat.
2. Create the size of meatballs you like but remember that the bigger the meatball the longer you’ll have to cook it. I made 30 small meatballs using a tablespoon measure as my guide.
3. Place meatballs in a microwave safe dish. Try to keep them spaced apart from each other (I cooked mine in two batches).
4. Cover with a microwave safe cover. Cook at 70% power for 6 minutes. (My microwave has 1200 watt power so you’ll need to change the cooking time if your microwave has less or more watts than mine.)
5. At the end of the cooking time, if you have a meat thermometer you can use it to check the temperature inside the meatball. The temperature should get to 160C (320F). Another way to know if the meat is done is to cut it open; there should be no redness to the meat anymore.

Step 2: Microwave the spaghetti

1. Measure how much spaghetti to use. I hold the spaghetti between my thumb and forefinger. For about two servings, I measure out an amount the size of a toonie coin.
2. Break the spaghetti into smaller pieces and put it in a microwave safe dish with about three cups of water on top. The dish should be big enough for the water to boil and the spaghetti to get bigger (My dish holds eight cups of water).
3. Add ¼ tsp of salt to the water and one tablespoon oil.
4. Cook in the microwave, uncovered for four minutes on high. Then, use a fork and break up the spaghetti so it can continue cooking without sticking together.
5. Allow spaghetti to sit in the microwave for two minutes and then cook again for four minutes on high.
6. At the end allow the pasta to sit for five minutes in the microwave. It will keep cooking and become tender.

Step 3: Put it all together!

1. Use your favourite spaghetti sauce, add it to the meatballs and reheat in the microwave. I warmed my up for about two minutes.
2. Pour over the spaghetti and serve! Enjoy!