Out of Pod Experience

It's very hard to screw up totally but you can always improve. Key is to time having the pasta cooked and hot when the sauce is and that's a no brainer. If you have heat proof baking dishes you can use those because the tossing step tends to cool it off a bit.


I am starving now.

Breakfast Pasta & Eggs

I learned this one from my Italian ex-brother-in-law. He always had plenty of leftover cooked spaghetti in the fridge from last evening's meal.

Beat a few eggs with some milk.
Chop up about 1/4 of an onion.
Optional - Chop up about 1/2 of a tomato.
Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet, medium heat. (Don't skimp on the oil, you need a good amount to saute the onions and still have some left to saute the pasta).
Crush a clove of garlic with the side of a knife (with the husk still on it). Remove the husk. Saute the garlic in the olive oil, getting the flavor through all the oil.
Add the chopped onion and saute.
Add the cooked spaghetti/pasta. You want to kind of stir fry it in the garlic oil to get it just a little toasted/crispy.
Add salt and black pepper. Also a little dried parsley if you like. Add the optional tomatoes if you're doing that.
Turn the heat off or to very low. When the skillet has cooled some, add the beaten eggs. Cook them until they're done the way you like them.
When you're done, you should have sort of an omelette with crispy garlicky pasta and onions (and maybe tomatoes).

Serve with toasted Italian bread and plenty of coffee.

Something like this: http://imgur.com/a/s2Pkv?

Op succes. It was great :)

Exact measurements are boring....

Nuance. Thats the key to baking!!

Quick (about half an hour, including prep and cleanup) and tasty chicken-based meal that can easily be cooked in a microwave
(regular oven also works just fine too, with negligible adjustments to the recipe, mainly a longer duration in the oven)

Utensils:
- microwave oven
- lidded microwave-compatible cooking container (no need for a tight seal, just enough to keep most of the water vapor in)
- small bowl
- meat knife, tablespoon, teaspoon

Ingredients:
- chicken meat (breast works best), ~1kg (~2 pounds)
- onions (1 large or 2 smaller ones)
- apples (1 large or 2 smaller ones)
- garlic (2-4 cloves, depending on size and preferences)
- sour (heavy) cream, ~200ml (~7 ounces), more or less depending on taste
(or something close enough to that, anything between 12% and 30% butterfat will probably do just fine)
- flour (preferably white, grain), ~one tablespoon
- curry spices, ~half a teaspoon (or to taste)
- salt, ~half a teaspoon (or to taste)
- ground black pepper, ~quarter teaspoon (or to taste)
- optionally, some water
- optionally, some herb seasoning (chopped parsley leaves, or basil, or oregano, or whatever else you favour personally for chicken meat recipes)

Directions:

Cut meat into long-ish thin strips, preferably as thin or even thinner than your pinky finger (0.5-1cm / 0.2-0.4 inches).
Cut apples into thin(ner) strips too (think french fry or even thinner).
Chop onions and garlic (as fine or coarse as you like, I prefer medium).

Put meat, apples, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper into the cooking container.
Mix it all thoroughly.
Close the lid.
Stick into the microwave for roughly 9 minutes at 800W (adjust time based on your microwave oven power).

Meanwhile, put the heavy cream into a small bowl and gradually mix the curry and flour in (to avoid clumping).
Optionally, you can add a bit of water if you feel like the resulting mix is too thick (but leave that step for the second time you cook this, and only if you thought the first try was not juicy enough - depends on cooking container and oven settings).

Take out the container from the microwave as soon as it's done nuking, open the lid carefully (hot steam, probably under pressure if you use a container with a hermetic seal).
With a spoon, GENTLY mix the hot contents (most meat pieces will be clumped together, this is normal and expected). Try to not mince the meat (at least not too much), rather just separate the pieces from each other.

When done separating, add the bowl of sour cream with condiments into the cooking container and mix well.
Close the lid.
Stick it back into the microwave for roughly 5 minutes at 800W (adjust time based on your microwave oven power).

Leave the lid closed for at least another 5 minutes after the nuking is done to finish self-cooking and slightly cool off.
If you choose to add the herb seasoning, add it now sprinkled on top (don't bother mixing, just close the lid back fast).

Afterwards, gently mix everything one last time for uniformity.
Then dig in and have a nice meal - either as-is or with a side-dish (vegetables, potatoes, rice, whatever).
Serves between 3 to 6 portions (usually 4-5), depending on hunger level and side-dish size (if any).