How is it that I feed my family all summer without turning on the oven, but right now I’m like, “Oh no! My oven is broken! What will we eat? How will I cook?”
I’d grill but it’s been rainy and drizzly for several days. This rain makes me want to bake. Of course. Poor me. I’m stuck with only my stove-top, electric skillet, fryer, blender, food processor, and crock pot. As you can see, I’m practically without any options.
The good news:
I think I’m getting my dream stove/oven out of this!!!
When the oven went out on Sunday, producing banana bread that was crispy on top but more like tepid, stringy banana pudding in the middle (so yum), Matt spent some time (once again) trying to fix it. Could he fix it? Yes. But after a while, he was over it. He surprised me with an offer. “How would you like to go shopping for a new oven?”
I thought he was kidding. We always just make do. If it breaks, we fix it. If it’s barely hanging on, we hang on with it. Therefore I kidded back with, “Yes! I want it to be a double oven! Also, I want to get rid of the electric hook up and instead hook up gas! Let’s go shopping for a gas range with a double oven!”
And Matt was like, “Hmm. Sounds good.” {Laura passes out.}
I’d never shared these dreams with him before. But knowing how much I cook and bake (which of course benefits him greatly), and how lame our stove/oven have been for so many years, I think Matt decided it was time to fork it out for a quality appliance.
I might have started acting like a five year old who was getting a double oven for Christmas. Sure, it was hard for me to think about paying extra for my dream range. But we were going to have to drop some money on a new range anyway. Might as well get the one that benefits our family and guests the most.
More good news:
You guys, not only am I going to have a double oven – I’m gonna have gas. I’m also going to say it like that to everyone I meet because it catches people off guard and makes us all giggle. I’ll say, “I haven’t had gas for years, but Matt is awesome and surprised me. So now I have gas. Finally!!” And then my friends will say, “Laura has gas! We are so happy for her.”
Won’t that just be so much fun?
In the meantime, I still don’t have an oven.
One doesn’t drop that much money without first doing research to decide which is the best option for purchase. (We’re looking at one like this. It’s one of the least expensive, if you can believe it. Cha-ching!) While I’m waiting for the range to come in and be installed, I decided to make a list of non-oven great food options. There are hundreds. I’ll just make a list based on what I have on hand and what is on sale this week.
Funny, by the way, that since I know I can’t bake, all I can think of are foods I want to bake. That’s the main reason I’m making this list. I have to get my mind off of cake.
Food I Can Make While My Oven is Broken
- Lasagna Casserole on the Stove-Top (this is totally doable and saves dirtying another dish anyway)
- Chicken Tacos (the crock pot is my friend)
- Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip (which we will use for Nachos and then Spicy Mac and Cheese another day)
- Whole Wheat Tortillas since I can’t make bread.
I had decided that breakfast is the trickiest, but as I look through this page of Breakfast Recipe Ideas, I’m finding quite a bit to work with. I have no idea why I’m making this hard. I’m just spoiled, that’s all.
Links to My Favorite Non-Oven Appliances
In case you’re interested, this is what I have in my kitchen. These will all be used double time this week, you can be sure!
- My Electric Skillet (This is 60% off right now!)
- My Cast Iron Griddle (Also being offered a huge discount right now if you need one. Only $22!)
- My Blender (Pricey but worth it)
- My Waffle Iron (It’s a cheapo)
- My Fryer (Mine is actually a little different than that, but they don’t seem to make mine anymore.)
- My Toaster Oven (I do NOT recommend this one. It’s cheap and burns toast. I had one like this before but when we broke the door I was too stingy to pay that much again. I regret the “money savings” – something I’m trying to keep in mind while shopping for a double oven.)
As you can see, I’ll still be able to make huge messes in my kitchen and my children won’t even starve while I am without an oven. There are loads of options.
As soon as I have gas, I’ll let you know. If that isn’t something to look forward to, I don’t know what is.
Do you have any non-oven recipe ideas to share? How about double-oven purchasing advice? Gas related thoughts? Really. I’m open to just about anything you’d like to share.
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
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