No oven. Help me plan our meals for the week!

[Anonymous]

Our oven is out. We have a charcoal grill, but it isn't my strong suit and is unpleasant in the rain/dark.

I am so sick of beans. Kids are even sick of meatballs, tacos, chili and the like. I can pull out the crockpot for pulled pork later in the week, but need ideas for the first part of the week. Kids are not big on sauce. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Do you have a microwave ?

[Anonymous]

Sandwiches? How about brinner one night?

[Anonymous]

I would do:
1. Breakfast for dinner
2. Purchase a rotisserie chicken and serve with some sides
3. Sausage and Peppers
4. Grilled Cheese and soup
5. Go out to eat - you deserve it

[Anonymous]

OP here. We do have a microwave. I use it a lot! Great for reheating.

I did a chicken in the crockpot late last week. Kids will not eat much more chicken right now!

I'd love grill cheese and soup. No one else would eat it. (ok, one kid would eat a grilled cheese, one a quesadilla. DH would join me with the soup. I really wish they'd eat soup.)

Breakfast for dinner is going on the menu now. Great idea. I will even cook the bacon on the stove

We went out to eat tonight!

[Anonymous]

If you have grill pan or a skillet, you can do pork chops, steak, paella, stir fries.

In a pot, you can make pasta, risotto, polenta, mashed potatoes etc.

[Anonymous]

I can do pork chops in a skillet? Do you have a recipe or some general guidelines? I'm a pretty good cook, but I don't eat meat so I need more directions when I try something new.

Thanks to all!

[Anonymous]

OP here again. I just found this! Looks good and is going on the list for this week.

http://www.oprah.com/food/Skillet-Pork-Chops-with-Apples-Recipe-Mark-Bittman

[Anonymous]

Hamburger or steak on the grill. You can throw corn on the cob on there, too. Wrap a cob with a pat of butter in aluminum foil and heat on the sides of the grill while you are doing the burgers.



Can you use the stove top or is the whole thing out of commission?

My kids like cheese tortellini with pesto. You could do it plain with butter and a little salt if they don't like sauces at all.

I sometimes give my kids slices of turkey pepperoni and brie cheese for lunch. Could be a dinner, with a fruit or veggie.

Cold chicken salad with apples. I do mine with curry powder. But you could tailor it to your kids' tastes.

[Anonymous]

Stovetop: Ratatouille and rice. Sausage from the grill on the side.

[Anonymous]

fried rice?
Stir fry?
pasta (with sausage and peppers if you like?)

[Anonymous]

Assuming the stove works and just the oven is out:

Balsamic Vinegar chicken- easy recipe- no oven required.
Sizes- steamed veggies (or raw)

Beef stroganoff (with hamburger meat or beef cubes)- kids usually prefer it with hamburger though

Grilled cheese and soup

Spaghetti and meatballs

Spaghetti with Olive Oil, garlic and parm cheese - add veggies too (I usually do cut up Aspargus, tomatoes, red onions and whatever veggies I have around)

Chicken Marsala (YUMMMM)

[Anonymous]

What can you only cook in the oven that a version can't be done the stove?

[Anonymous]

Is your entire oven/stove top out or is it just the oven?

If it's just the oven and you have a microwave/stove top it really shouldn't be that difficult.

People who undergo kitchen remodeling often have to do without a full size fridge/oven/stove top for weeks (if not months) on end. Basically you wind up using a microwave/toaster oven/electric griddle and the outdoor grill to prepare your meals. Even that is doable once you get used to it. I did miss having a sink w/garbage disposal and my dishwasher.

[Anonymous]

I loved for two years without an oven, though we did have a cooktop. Breville makes an awesome toaster oven; I have even made a cheesecake in that thing!