How to Find Microwave Oven Recipes

Cooking in a microwave oven is a fast, easy way to prepare a large number of foods. Microwave cooking requires less oil and water than many other methods of cooking, and you'll keep more of the nutrients, too. For instance, spinach that's been cooked in a microwave oven keeps almost all the folate that was originally present.

Folate is a vital nutrient, also known as vitamin B9. It prevents anemia in pregnant women, and it helps us with cell division and correct DNA division. If you cook spinach on the stove, it could lose almost eighty percent of this nutrient. Foods that may develop carcinogenic materials than cooked on the stove, like bacon, develop many fewer of these substances when cooked in the microwave, too.

However, finding good microwave cooking recipes can be challenging. There are lots of recipes out there, but they won't all work for your oven, or turn out well. It takes some work to collect a set of high quality microwave oven recipes that taste good and are good for you. Fortunately, there are ways to sift through the vast number of microwave recipes out there and find the good ones. Here are some tips.

There are a number of different places you can start looking for microwave oven recipes. There are lots to be found online, or you could check cooking magazines and microwave cooking books from your library or bookstore. If you've never done much more than heat up a TV dinner in your microwave, start with a relatively simple recipe. Different microwaves require different things while cooking, so you'll have to learn yours. If you have the manual available, that will help a lot.

Once you've found a recipe that you think you'd like to try, examine it closely. See if you can find out what oven wattage the recipe is intended for. Many microwave oven recipes are made for a seven hundred watt oven. However, microwave ovens vary between around three hundred and fourteen hundred watts. Cooking a recipe meant for a different wattage could result in an under or over cooked food item.

If your recipe is meant for a different oven, look online for a conversion chart that'll tell you what kind of cooking time changes to make in order to prevent problems. If you don't know what your oven wattage is, there are charts to help you find that, too. They're based on how long it takes to boil water. Once you know your oven's power, you'll have a lot more control over cooking.

Oven features can be important when it comes to finding microwave oven recipes that'll work with your machine, too. For instance, while many microwaves now come with turntables that let food cook evenly, not all models have these. If your oven doesn't turn food automatically, you'll need to stop at various points during the cooking process to rotate it. That will keep your food from having some spots that are overcooked and others that are underdone or even cold.

Remember that while cooking in your microwave requires a lot less oil or water, these agents can affect the flavor and texture of food. Be prepared for a very low fat or low moisture microwave recipe to taste or feel a little different than a conventionally cooked one. You may wish to adjust recipes after you've tried them initially. The more experience you get with microwave cooking, the better you'll get at deciding the best way to change a recipe.

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Factors Affecting Microwave Recipes Cooking

FACTORS WHICH AFFECT COOKING

Several factors which influence timing and results in conventional cooking are exaggerated by microwave speed..

From conventional cooking you are familiar with the idea that more food takes more time.

Two cups of water take longer to boil than one.

Size of food is important, too.

Cut up potatoes cook faster than whole ones.

These differences are more apparent in microwaving, since energy penetrates and turns to heat directly in the food.

Knowing what affects the speed and evenness of cooking will help you enjoy all the advantages of microwaving.

Piece Size: In both conventional and microwave cook-ing, small pieces cook faster than large ones. Pieces which are similar in size and shape cook more evenly.

Starting Temperature: Foods taken from the refrigerator take longer to cook than foods at room temperature. Timings in our recipes are based on the temperatures at which you normally store the foods.

Density of Food: In both conventional and microwave cooking, dense foods, such as a potato, take longer to cook or heat than light, porous foods, such as a piece of cake, bread or a roll.

Quantity of Food: In both types of cooking, small amounts usually take less time than large ones. This is most apparent in microwave cooking, where time is di-rectly related to the number of servings. Shape of Food: In both types of cooking, thin areas cook faster than thick ones. This can be controlled in micro-waving by placing thick pieces to the outside edge with thin pieces to the center.

Height in Oven: In both types of cooking, areas which are closest to the source of heat or energy cook faster. For even microwaving, turn over or shield vulnerable foods which are higher than 5 inches.

Boiling: Microwaves exaggerate boiling in milk-based foods. A temperature probe turns off the oven before foods boil over. Use a lower power setting and watch carefully when not using a probe. Prick Foods to Release Pressure: Steam builds up pressure in foods which are tightly covered by a skin or membrane. Prick potatoes (as you do conventionally), egg yolks and chicken livers to prevent bursting.

Round Shapes: Since microwaves penetrate foods to about 1 -in. from top, bottom and sides, round shapes and rings cook more evenly. Corners receive more energy and may overcook. This may also happen conventionally

Bury Vulnerable Foods: Foods which attract microwave energy, such as cheese or meat, should, when possible, be buried in sauce or other ingredients. In conventional stewing or pot roasting, meat not covered with liquid dries out.

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Microwave Recipes - Cooking Pasta is Not a Big Deal

Pasta - a dish that increases your appetite with its name only! If you have a microwave, you don't need to go to any restaurant and spend hefty amount to taste delicious pasta. It is not difficult to cook pasta in a microwave.

The first and easiest dish can be prepared using pasta shells (also known as conchiglie). In order to make this pasta, put a cup full of conchiglie in a microwave safe container. Now add a teaspoon of olive oil, a sprinkle of dried basil, chopped tomatoes and a crushed clove of garlic in the container. Cover it with microwave safe wrap and cook it for three minutes at full power. Remove the container from microwave and stir it. You can add two tablespoons of water, if you need some more liquid in your dish and cook it again for another two minutes on full power. Take the container out of the microwave and stir it and leave it open for two minutes. If you're a vegetarian, the dish would be one of the quickest dishes to prepare.

Fish lovers can try making tuna pasta with sweet corn. Take a bowl of water and put six strips of lasagna in it and leave it for an hour to soak. Now put a three-fourth cup of flour, a teaspoon of oil and a half chopped onion in microwave safe dish. Cook it for one minute at full power. In another microwave safe dish add two cup of milk, a pinch of pepper and salt and half cup of grated cheese and cook it for four minutes. Remove the dish and stir the mixture well. Combine a tin of sweet corn and tuna and mix it with previously cooked cheese and onion mixture. Spread the mixture on the base of the dish and put two lasagna strips over it. Make three layers using six lasagna noodles. On the top of the layered dish put some cheese and cook it for fifteen minutes on full power. Leave it open for few minutes and your tuna pasta is ready to serve.

Pasta Microwave Recipes