Pasta Ideas

        Now that you know how to make pasta in a microwave here are some options of what you can add to it  if regular tomato sauce isn't doing it for you. One of the most simple ways I eat pasta is drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. You can also use Alfredo sauce or pesto. I like putting chicken and especially grilled chicken on my pasta. It helps incorporate protein into the meal and means you are not just eating carbs. Even college students can find it easy to do so because Tyson^® makes Grilled & Ready^® Fully Cooked Frozen Grilled Chicken Breast Strips which can be found in any local supermarket and if not there are other comparable items and brands.

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         Vegetables are also great to incorporate. Broccoli, tomatoes, and peas are some common ones that go well with pasta. Although you may not have a stove you can still have a delicious meal of chicken, broccoli, and any type of pasta you like with Alfredo sauce. Here is a link for how to cook broccoli in the microwave http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-steam-broccoli-in-the-m-47176 and here is a recipe and directions for making Alfredo sauce in the microwave http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-microwave-creamy-alfredo-sauce-265738  I have tried out both of these recipes and they work well. I have also cooked broccoli in a microwave using the method described on page 84 of Healthy Microwave Cooking.

Healthy Microwave Cooking page 84 Broccoli Basics by Judith Benn Hurley

       My personal favorite is combining diced tomatoes, oregano, and olive oil and then mixing that into my pasta.I like to have a lot of tomato but you can use any amount you would like. As for the size, I like the pieces to be pretty small, no  larger than a cubic centimeter, but again you can determine the way you want them. I just use whatever amount of olive oil coats the diced bits of tomato completely and then sprinkle a generous amount of oregano. I then add the tomato mixture to my pasta and top it off with Parmesan cheese. Romano and Asiago also work well and you can even use a blend of cheeses for extra flavor.

        Other additions include bacon bits and meatballs. And yes, you can cook bacon in the microwave, most of the time the directions are right on the package. You will just need a lot of paper towels! You can also buy frozen meatballs which just need to be heated in the microwave. 

How to Cook Pasta in a Microwave

       If you know me you know I like pasta... a lot! So it seemed fitting to me that one of my first posts include pasta. Although the dining hall at my school offers pasta I am not always able to have it the way I like it because there is a limited selection of what I can put on it. So as I recently said, it never dawned on me before that I could make meals in my dorm in spite of the kitchen situation so I never thought I could make my own pasta dishes. It is possible though and now you'll know how to too!

 First you will need your pasta and a microwave safe bowl or container large enough for the pasta.

 Once you have put your pasta in the bowl fill the bowl with water. Fill the bowl until the water is a little higher than the pasta. (You can add salt to the water if you like).

 

Next put the bowl in the microwave. If you are worried about the water spilling over you can set the bowl on top of a plate. You will set the microwave for ten minutes but make sure to pause it and stir the pasta about halfway through the cook time to prevent the pasta from sticking. Then let the pasta continue cooking for the remainder of the ten minutes.

After the ten minutes is up take the bowl out of the microwave. Be careful because it will probably  be hot. Taste a piece of pasta to make sure it is cooked the way you like it. Now you can either pour the contents of the bowl into a stainer or use a slotted spoon to separate the pasta from the water. And that's it, all that's left now is to clean up and eat (or eat and then clean up, whatever order you prefer)! You can now just add whatever sauce and toppings you like. I will have a list of and recipes for a variety of toppings for pasta up on the blog in the future.

Pasta cooked in the microwave

        

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