More Money Saving Microwave Tips
Here are a few more microwave tips that can help you save a little money
In a recent article, I shared a few microwave tips that can help you save cash here and there, mostly by extending the shelf-life of edibles and revitalizing items like masking tape. But all that was just a drop in the bucket, really.
The fact is, you can do all kinds of things cheaply with a microwave oven... if you know how to do them right. In this article, for example, we'll take the guesswork out of cooking several things you might not expect to work in a microwave, so you don't have to experiment and suffer wastage.
But First...
If you're like me, you probably don't know the power output of your microwave. Maybe you've just forgotten, or you can't make heads or tails of that poorly-translated user guide. But the wattage is important to know for many uses and recipes; and luckily, we've got a simple way to figure it out.
• Fill a large glass container with 4½ cups of cool water.
• Record the temperature with a Fahrenheit scale thermometer.
• Heat the water for two minutes on high.
• Carefully stir the water, then record the temperature again.
• Subtract the first temperature from the second.
• Multiply the difference by 19.5. This will reveal the approximate power of your microwave in watts.
Cool, eh?
Nuts to You!
Bet you didn't know that you can roast nuts in a microwave. But once you've figured out your microwave's power output using the above method, it's easy, and lots cheaper than using a regular oven.
Just pour 1½ cups of your favorite shelled nuts into a 9-inch glass pie plate and cook them on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring twice.
You can toast coconut similarly. Spread 1/3-cup of flaked coconut into the abovementioned pie plate and cook it on high for a 1-1½ minutes, stirring twice, until it's golden-brown in color. Mmmmm!
Herbs are just as easy. Instead of hanging them up to dry or accidentally carbonizing them in your conventional oven, place a few sprigs (totaling to no more than about a half-cup) between paper towels and heat them on high for 1-1½ minutes until they turn dry and crumbly. Check them every 20 seconds or so.
A Quick Deodorizer
If your microwave begins to smell of too many entrees past, no worries -- there's an easy fix. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into a small bowl, add the peel (cut up into small pieces, of course), and fill the rest of the bowl with water.
Microwave the concoction on high for three minutes, then wipe the interior of the oven with a damp cloth. Like all these microwave tips, it's cheap, pie-easy, and surprising effective!