Dina Cheney - Mug Meals: Delicious Microwave Recipes

Text 2015 by Dina Cheney Photographs 2015 by Andrew Purcell All rights reserved. The Taunton Press, Inc., 63 South Main Street, PO Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506 e-mail: Editor: Carolyn Mandarano Copy Editor: Nina Rynd Whitnah Indexer: Heidi Blough Jacket/Cover Design: Sandra Salamony Interior Design: Sandra Salamony Layout: Sandra Salamony Photographer: Andrew Purcell Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks The following names/manufacturers appearing in Mug Meals are trademarks: Applegate Farms, Bonne Maman, Casa Di Bertacchi, Corn Flakes, Frontera, Ghiradelli, Goya, Hagen-Dazs, Heinz, Horizon Organic, Kind, Imagine, La Famiglia DelGrosso, Maranatha, Microplane, Natures Path, Nestle, Nutella, Pacific Organic, Panasonic, Patsys, Raos Homemade, Santa Cruz Organic, Sarabeths, Sargento, Swanson, Tabatchnick, Thai Kitchen, Xochitl Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Cheney, Dina. Mug meals : delicious microwave recipes / Dina Cheney. pages cm ISBN 978-1-62710-916-1 ISBN 978-1-63186-197-0 (e-Book) ISBN 978-1-63186-198-7 (ePub) eISBN 978-1-63186-199-4 (Mobi) 1. Microwave cooking. Mugs. I. I.

Tauntons fine cooking. II. Title. TX832.C46 2015 641.5882dc23 2014049303 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my beloved grandmother, Thelma (1927-2014) Thanks to my kind, thoughtful, and intelligent editor, Carolyn Mandarano, who brought me a project thats truly changed the way I cook. Never again will I look at a microwave the same way! Its been a joy and a creative challenge to play around with the ingredients in my pantry. Its also been liberating and exciting to experience the instant gratification of turning out delicious dishes in mere minutes.

Thanks as well to the rest of the incredible team at The Taunton Pressby now, youve become almost like family! Thank you, thank you to Sandra Salamony and photography team Andrew and Carrie Purcell for the gorgeous design and photographs. Finally, I am so grateful to my husband, Koby, for supporting my career. And Max and Abe, thanks for being my tasters! INTRODUCTION:
MUG MAGIC!

GRANOLA BARS, THAI curried pumpkin bisque, meatloaf, chocolate espresso pudding, and chocolate trufflesall ready in about 5 minutes? Yes, it is possible, thanks to the microwave. This often-overlooked appliance can be used for more than heating up frozen food and melting butter and chocolate. Just combine ingredients from your pantry and freezer in a microwaveable mug, cook in the microwave, and end up with the 125 delicious and satisfying breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts in this book. It sounds simpleand it really is! In these pages, youll find dishes that you never thought could possibly come out of a mugclassics like lasagna, meatball Parmesan, and gingerbread, plus surprising twists such as Hawaiian-style fried rice with pineapple, pizza toss, Korean meatballs, and chocolate truffles.

All of these recipes require very little in the way of effort (just a couple of steps) and time (most take a total of 5 minutes). Furthermore, you dont need any cooking skills or even a full kitchen. As long as you have access to a microwave and sink (and single burner in some cases), youre on your way to preparing delicious meals in mere minutes. Whether youre a student (10 or older), are cooking for one or two, or are remodeling your kitchen, this book is for you. Mug meals are especially convenient in the mornings, when youre in a rush to get out of the house. Theyre also ideal for after-school snacks, lunches at the office, simple dinners, and treats to satisfy dessert cravings in a flash.

For those of you with kids, these recipes might be the first meals they make from scratch. As you begin to cook from this book, youll likely find yourself bringing home leftovers from restaurants (like take-out rice) and using up leftovers from your own dinners. You might also begin to keep your pantry stocked, keep chopped onions and peppers in the fridge, and cook off large batches of ground meat and grains, so youre only minutes away from one of the meals and desserts in this book. These recipes are extremely easy. Still, I wanted to give you some pointers to ensure complete success. mug, sometimes sauces splatter. mug, sometimes sauces splatter.

For this reason, it never hurts to use a 16-oz. (or larger) mug. Its a smart idea to coat the inside of the mug with cooking spray. The spray will make cleanup easier and allow you to easily invert food out of the mug. That said, I only call for cooking spray if I think it will make a significant difference, as with cakes, chocolate bark, oatmeal, and eggs. Since these dishes rely on just a few ingredients, make sure theyre high quality.

A dish prepared with watery and bland salsa, for instance, will result in a watery and bland dish. Ive listed some of my favorite brands in the sidebar on . You can mix most ingredients in the mug. However, your food will come out better if you mix the ingredients in a bowl and then pour them into the mug. That said, if in a pinch, know that you can do without the bowl, if necessary. Its best to microwave one serving at a time.

Microwaving more than one mug will significantly increase the cooking time and throw off the recipe. Since cooking times generally range from 1 to 3 minutes, cooking portions individually isnt too inconvenient, even if youre entertaining. That said, you can probably fit two or three mugs in a standard microwave at the same time; just beware of the outcome. Almost always cover food in the microwave. It will cook more evenly, retain more moisture, and generate less mess. You can use a paper towel or clean kitchen towel, plate or bowl, or piece of waxed paper.

Just dont use foil or anything else metallicmetal can catch fire in the microwave. Making mug cakes can be very messythe batter can easily overflow and get all over the mug and microwave turntable. Like a wacky science experiment, the cakes can pop up out of the mug and later deflate. When this happens, the cover might fall off. Dont worry. Just open the microwave, put the cover back on, and keep microwaving.

Use a 16-oz. (or larger) mug when preparing mug cakes.

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