Kitchen remodel coming…need dinner ideas please!

[clh2]

Hi everyone!

We are remodeling our kitchen in August. So, will have access to a fridge, freezer, a toaster and a microwave, an insta-pot and a gas grill.

We are trying to get some things ready in advance for meals (tacos, Korean tacos, sloppy joes,). We think we can cook pasta in the instapot, giving us the ability to make tuna salad, which is a great summer go-to for us. Another summer thing we like is chef’s salads. Grilling gives us options like burgers, chicken and shrimp, etc.

for those who have been through this…what else’s have you made during a 5-6 week period with no stove.

im not a huge fan of sandwiches…but as I work from home, will probably do sandwiches for lunch, so that is really not an option for me for dinner too.

thanks so much!

 

[MillauFr]

We used the grill 4 to 5 days per week

 

[tvguy]

Our kitchen was out of service for 6 weeks during our remodel. We moved the microwave into the laundry room and lived off Lean Cuisine frozen dinners.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I would start on Pinterest for insta-pot ideas.

Do you have a crockpot or electric skillet? A crockpot just needs an outlet.

Does your grill have a burner or two? Could you make a starch on that while you grill meat (and possibly vegetables)?

Look at this as a chance to expand your cooking skills--think of things like foil packet cooking. You could possibly do sheetpan meals on the grill, too--it depends on the size and type, and how well you can control the temperature. We've done homemade pizza on the grill, too.

 

[AnnaS]

Prepare some meals and freeze

Definitely use the grill outside as often as you can

If you have, use Foreman grill/sandwich maker, waffle maker, crockpot, microwave or toaster oven

I would invest a few dollars and purchase a Single Electric Range too

Good luck and plan on it taking longer than the estimated time! It will all be worth it in the end

 

[tcufrog]

What about a really hearty pasta salad? You could grill chicken and put it on a salad. Instead of traditional sandwiches, you could make paninis. How about grilling some onions and flank steak for fajitas? Make a huge batch of chili and have one meal of just chili and then bake some potatoes on the grill and serve them topped with chili.

If you're cooking in advance, I would make some casseroles in microwavable disposable trays and freeze them. Some options are lasagna and enchiladas.

 

[barkley]

for less than $75 (much less if you snag a sale at walmart or a bb&beyond coupon) you can snag a portable induction cooktop. we got one that came with the kind of pot that you have to use on it but cast iron cookware can be used as well. this will serve as a stove top, and if you search around the internet there are recipes/tips on how to use a lidded container to achieve a baking situation.

we have one that we use outdoors or on the counter (if stovetop is full/if we don't want to heat the whole kitchen/if we are doing bbq and want to have warm bbq beans or other on the deck). handy little suckers and great in temporary situations.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Our kitchen/dining area renovation was during Thanksgiving. We ate our meal on a sawhorse table that year, lol.

We used our grill a lot, and the microwave. It wasn’t too bad. Was happy when it was done, though!

 

[clh2]

Our kitchen/dining area renovation was during Thanksgiving. We ate our meal on a sawhorse table that year, lol.

We used our grill a lot, and the microwave. It wasn’t too bad. Was happy when it was done, though!

I was very, very, very specific to my husband and contractor…my kitchen will not be under construction over Thanksgiving week. Period. Not negotiable.

 

[holden]

This is what we did:

Ate out once a week
Pizza once a week
Grill 5 days a week

 

[jo-jo]

I'd add an electric fry pan or the one burner cooktop as others have mentioned.

 

[clh2]

I am really hesitant to add an electric fry pan, or induction burner. We don’t have a place to do this, without worrying about splashing stuff on a wall. However, if in the middle of the project, I reserve the right to change my mind

 

[RoseGold]

You can get the liners for the Instant Pot, which eliminates most of the cleanup. You can boil eggs in the instant pot. There are tons of fantastic soup-like Instant Pot recipes, like gumbo and chili and such.

If you were looking into getting one anyway, you could get a toaster oven style air fryer. It's definitely the MVP in my kitchen. That would branch you out to frozen pizza and tater tots LOL.

If you're worried about splashing on a wall in your makeshift kitchen, just get some stick on wallpaper. Walmart has some cheap stuff. Then take it down when you're done.

 

[jo-jo]

I am really hesitant to add an electric fry pan, or induction burner. We don’t have a place to do this, without worrying about splashing stuff on a wall. However, if in the middle of the project, I reserve the right to change my mind

Using painter tape or commend strips, could you put up some foil/ plastic/ ??? to protect the wall.

Ok, never mind, RoseGold has a classy idea than I did.

 

[clh2]

The stick on wallpaper is a great idea! Thanks Rose Gold!

 

[nicolita3]

Costco has a lot of pre-made foods that are easy to warm up. I'd get a bunch of those if you have a membership.

 

[barkley]

I was very, very, very specific to my husband and contractor…my kitchen will not be under construction over Thanksgiving week. Period. Not negotiable.

then i hope for your sake that you either already have or ordered quite awhile ago any of the major appliances you are replacing. our hood/microwave went out a few weeks ago and when i started researching a replacement i realized that our stove/oven is near enough to the projected end of it's lifespan that we could start entering the land of borrowed time on it so when we went looking at replacing the microwave we inquired what kind of wait time we were looking at if our stove/oven went out . had one store not had the particular hood/microwave we wanted (only one in their entire stock-3 stores) we would have had a projected 5 month wait. a stove/oven? bosch orders are currently out a minimum 5-6 months. one of the stores we went to had ONE, the floor model which they were willing to sell so we are replacing both b/c while i can survive with a counter top small microwave-there's no way i could make it 5 or 6 months ('at best') without a stove or oven.

 

[clh2]

We actually aren’t replacing an appliances. stove and dishwasher are 1 year old. Fridge is 5 years old. We will get one that matches sometime in next year.

Our issue is the exhaust fan, just found out Thursday it got delayed one month. Our contractor said that doesn’t impact anything, and can merely be installed when it comes.

 

[tvguy]

then i hope for your sake that you either already have or ordered quite awhile ago any of the major appliances you are replacing. our hood/microwave went out a few weeks ago and when i started researching a replacement i realized that our stove/oven is near enough to the projected end of it's lifespan that we could start entering the land of borrowed time on it so when we went looking at replacing the microwave we inquired what kind of wait time we were looking at if our stove/oven went out . had one store not had the particular hood/microwave we wanted (only one in their entire stock-3 stores) we would have had a projected 5 month wait. a stove/oven? bosch orders are currently out a minimum 5-6 months. one of the stores we went to had ONE, the floor model which they were willing to sell so we are replacing both b/c while i can survive with a counter top small microwave-there's no way i could make it 5 or 6 months ('at best') without a stove or oven.

I didn't think stoves and ovens ever wore out, at least not electric ones. Most hardware stores carry replacement heating elements, thermostats and control knobs and those parts just snap in. My parents house had the original stand alone stove and oven, and while they were out of style, they still were fully functional.
I had to replace the Microwave/Vent stove and oven in my house only because the builder of my house used Litton systems where those were all one unit. Circuit board in the Microwave went, and the part was not available, so you couldn't just replace the microwave/hood portion. That was 15 years ago and I have replaced the oven heating element once. Part was like $25.

 

[barkley]

We actually aren’t replacing an appliances. stove and dishwasher are 1 year old. Fridge is 5 years old. We will get one that matches sometime in next year.

that's fantastic-that has to be saving you! when we recently redid our bathrooms we saved by reusing the same sinks and hardware. every penny counts!