Hello.

My microwave died in spectacular fashion today. It was the lifeblood of my kitchen. I’ve had it so long I’ve forgotten how to cook without one. And I can’t afford to buy a new one. I was going to post in eatcheapandhealthy but that place looks as dead as my microwave. I don’t know what I’m going to do.

Jamie Oliver often went on about cheap recipes… that required 30 ingredients and a bunch of equipment I don’t have. These are not helpful. I need recipes that are cheap to shop for, cheap on electricity usage, easy to prepare with limited equipment, and it would be a bonus if they are healthy and tasty. I know I’m being picky, but I don’t have much to work with.

I figured this would be the community to ask because to cook well, you need to know stuff that a bad cook wouldn’t know. I hope I can get a few useful ideas. Thanks.

  • Baggins
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    73 months ago

    For a few quid you can pick up a slow cooker in a charity shop - make sure the bowl is not chipped and give it a thorough clean.

    Dead cheap to run.

    • KalvoOP
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      43 months ago

      Charity shops here don’t accept electrical goods, because people were donating dangerous things like what my microwave was until very recently. I love stews so I’ll keep an eye out and maybe I’ll get lucky somehow. Cheers.

      • @[email protected]
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        23 months ago

        Have you got any local community sale type places? Things like gumtree, nextdoor, craigs list or facebook might be worth checking. I can vouch for the idea of a slow cooker. I’m pretty sure you could chuck in an old shoe, some random herbs, some root veg and a few hours later have enough tasty food to serve a small army.

        • KalvoOP
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          13 months ago

          I’ll pass on the old shoe idea 😂 I know what you mean. It’s hard to screw up a slow cooker stew. I don’t use any of those sites but I’ll have a little sniff around and see what I can find.

    • @[email protected]
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      23 months ago

      This is 100% the answer. If you’re looking for cheap and easy, a slow cooker is the way to go. Throw shit into a pot. Set it on low before you leave for work. When you get back from work, you’ll have a perfectly done meal that will likely last for the next two or three days at least.