Wow......
Cheese and fruit?
You can cook rice and potatoes in the micro....and veggies as well.
I have cooked salmon in the micro and it's really fine. I use a marinade....usually one of the Soy-vey ones.
You can make scrambled eggs in the microwave....just cook in 30 second bursts...pause for 30 seconds and cook more.
I think I would concentrate on things like rice, and veggies with frozen precooked shrimp.

I am sorry for you!...But there are all sorts of precooked and seasoned microwave ready foods in the frozen food aisle!...(yuck!)
And there is always salad, you can make your own dressing and add things like calamata olives and nice cheeses, pickled artichokes and sun dried tomatoes.

Hope this won't last very long!!
Linda C

I'm sorry you're away from your kitchen! I'll stop complaining about my microwave-less galley kitchen and my boxed-up gadgets :-D

Stuffed potatoes would be good- you can nuke the bacon and the potatoes, chop the bacon and add to potato filling with sour cream or cream cheese and anything else that strikes your fancy, and then give them another little turn to melt some cheese on top.

Quick grits or polenta should work well also.

I'd start with raw shrimp, even if you have to use a couple changes of water. Cooked shrimp are rubbery almost as soon as they're heated through. You could do pho, the rice noodles should take about the same time as the shrimp. Actually, you might want to invest in a good thermos (food jar) to cook in.

Couscous just takes hot water. You could beef it up with a can of good tuna, and maybe even some nuts and dried fruit.

Here's a salmon en papillote recipe with good reviews: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/salmon-fillet-en-papillote-with-julienne-vegetable-recipe/index.html

Here's a thread on poaching eggs: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/623760 you'll likely have to do a little trial and error or find some instructions that match the microwave wattage, but thankfully, eggs are cheap! A nuked sweet potato with a runny egg on top is actually one of my favorite lazy meals. I like sweet chili sauce and sour cream on top if I have any.

Dang it, I can't find my tried and true emergency cake recipe, but here is an article with some different ones http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/microwave-mug-cake-recipes_n_1600897.html

Winter squash nukes well, just make sure to add a little bit of water in the container and prick the skin.

Not really relevant (unless you've got a whipped cream aerator next to your microwave) But look, bread!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gAcL9qSDLE

I used to have a copy of a cookbook designed for college dorm living where you cooked and heated all kinds of things in an electric percolator. Try a search on - dorm room cooking - and I bet you find some new ideas and recipes.

-Grainlady

If this isn't a long term situation, I would just find a good place and eat out. but that is just me. :)
Or maybe you could acquire a slow cooker of some kind, then you could do soups, stews, chicken, roasts etc. Small amounts since it is for two. How is the "clean up after" situation? I would also consider that in any effort to prepare meals.
Good luck to you and I certainly hope this doesn't last long.

I swear by this microwave risotto recipe and I have a full, working kitchen. It is extremely versatile; you can add anything you like when you take it out of the microwave. The residual heat will cook it (with the exception of meats and poultry. I'm really talking about seafood and veggies.)
Jo

BARBARA KAFKA��S MICROWAVE RISOTTO
Microwave Gourmet, first published in 1987, was the first microwave cookbook ever introduced by a major food writer��a breakthrough that challenged all the preconceptions about what one can and cannot do with a microwave oven. For the first time an appliance once relegated to reheating leftovers truly competed in the gourmet arena. Not only that, the idea that you could zap risotto in the microwave made the dish itself seem approachable to ordinary home cooks. But what has kept people talking ever since is the fact that microwaved risotto turns out exactly like the dish you expect in restaurants.
Basic Risotto
This is the classic, the one to return to. I have a friend who makes the whole recipe as a meal for one��admittedly exceptional, if not piggy. Serves 3 as a first course, 6 as a side dish.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion (about 1/4 lb)
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock or broth
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Microwave butter and oil in a 10-inch quiche or deep pie dish, or 11�� x 81/2�� x 2�� dish, uncovered at 100% for 2 minutes. Add onions and stir to coat. Cook uncovered at 100% for 4 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Cook, uncovered, for 4 minutes more. (If using a small oven, cook onions for 7 minutes; add rice and cook for 7 minutes more.)
2. Stir in broth. Microwave, uncovered, at 100% for 9 minutes. Stir well and cook for 9 minutes more. (If using a small oven, cook for 12 minutes, stir, then cook for 12 minutes more.)
3. Remove risotto from microwave. Let stand, uncovered for 5 minutes to let the rice absorb remaining liquid, stirring several times. Stir in salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Not sure how long you will be there or what your circumstances are but I would most certainly buy a crockpot and a small one or two burner hot plate.

Other than that , depending on the money situation, I would be buying high end frozen meals that can be cooked in the microwave. The better grocery stores around here have frozen meals made by small specialty companies that are very good.

Other than that it would be lots of soups, salads and sandwiches!

My first thought was crockpot or electric skillet.
Is there a BBQ?

Specific suggestions:
Rotisserie chicken + bagged salad
Chicken wraps with the rest of the salad and leftover chicken
Soups of all sorts (utilize pre-cut veggies)
Individual salmon portions (10/$10 at Albertson's pretty often)
Steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc. (microwave)
Deli type salads
Take advantage of canned meats like salmon, tuna or chicken

It may not be as gourmet as you normally eat and may cost a little more, but can still be healthy.
You might also look up Raw Food Diets for inspiration on things to make without cooking. Microwave recipes could be useful as well.

And remember....."This too shall pass".

Let me know if you want YOUR crockpot back to use for awhile! OR.....you can come out here and make things (or prep) for the week. :)

mom

Splurge on a hot plate and a frying pan and pot. That way you can make about almost anything except baked goods. I lived like this in college and when I backpacked--stir fries, rice and beans, pasta, soups and sandwiches, quesadillas, hot cereal, polenta. You can even bake in a frying pan--english muffins, pancakes, scones, biscuits, cinnamon rolls with a non yeast dough, spoonbread. You can fry toast. I used to take my pot down to the kitchenette in the dorm and come back to my room with my one pot meal and eat it right out of the pot!

Your situation is basically similar to that of someone undergoing a kitchen renovation. When our kitchen was torn down, we cooked in the new microwave (temporarily set up in a bedroom) and an electric skillet, which had a cover. I could cook chicken, turkey chops, burgers, stir-fries, and even pasta in the skillet, and I made veggies in the MW. You can do this!

Check out the Kitchens Forum here at GardenWeb. I can't link you to a specific post, but there is usually a thread about managing in a temp kitchen.

Good luck!

Sue

If you choose to buy/use a small crockpot, don't forget about the Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. They make clean up so easy. Below is a link to a coupon for $1 off.

A slow cooker will really open the possibilities.

Last year DH and I spent a month in a distant city while he had tests run and eventually surgery. On the weekends we were lucky enough to go to a relative's house 6 hours away. I would bake some chicken breasts while we were there. Some I would make into chicken salad. Some I would just slice. I would take that back to our hotel for us to eat for a couple of days.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner coupon

This sounds very similar to what I had when I first moved to Maine about 2 years ago. I still don't have a full kitchen but I have progressed. Anyway the lack of a full sized fridge was my main problem - I had winnow down my refrigerated ingredients to the very basics and shop more often. I used coolers to keep veggies too. I would recommend a single burner hot plate if possible or a toaster oven. They are often in thrift stores or yard sales. The hotplate I finally purchased makes my possibilities much broader. I use the microwave to make couscous, rice and steam veggies. I baked a lot in a toaster oven. Unfortunately I haven't found ways do prepare meat in the microwave. I use wood heat - so I have grilled in the wood stove. Awkward but delicious. Maybe you could figure out a way to grill outside?

Don't forget couscous--it's easy to make, you only need 'barely boiling water) and is done in 5 minutes. Here's a delicious meal: Make Chicken Herb Couscous as package directs, after it's done, stir in aabout 2 tablespoons oj concentrage and 1 small, drained can mandarin oranges. Then, mix some purchased cooked chicken strips with: about 2 tablespoons Orange marmalade, 1 tablespoon oj concentrate, a pinch of ginger and a splash of soy. Microwave to heat through. Serve over the couscous, sprinkled with sliced green onions and almonds or walnuts

and make use of your supermarket salad bar. You can use those cleaned and prepped veg for all sorts of recipes, and you only have to buy a little (no extra to store).

A few other microwave/easy ideas--hot roast beef or turkey sandwiches made with deli meat and purchased gravy. Add some stove-top stuffing and a salad.

A baked potato topped with purchased beef or chicken BBQ, or creamed dried beef, or canned beef stew.

You can make scalloped potatoes--add some meat (dried beef, ham or bacon) and vegetables (tomatoes or broccoli or carrots) to make a more rounded meal

I would check out the discount stores and thrift stores for more pots and pans, cooking utensils, slow cooker and toaster oven. When we did our kitchen remodel 6 years ago that is basically what I had to cook with and I cooked that way for 7 months.

Also there are lots of electrical appliances you could buy cheaply at the thrift store. Even an electric grill, like George Foreman, type appliance would be handy. And an electric griddle also. And you can find free mini refrigerators, or at a cheap price, on Craigslist.
Good luck.
Clare

Thanks everyone for great suggestions.

Crockpot is in the works (thanks mom!) and I sure appreciate the reminder about the liners. Cleanup is kinda a pain.

I do have access to a grill but nowhere out of the weather to use it... guess i can keep my hopes up for a nice day now and then.

Made a couple semi-homemade meals... Sandra Lee would be proud. New staple foods will include steam in the bag veggies, canned and roasted chicken, tuna, jarred sauces for meal starters, etc.

Thankfully my weekends are at home in my own kitchen where I can do a lot of prepwork. Unfortunetly this is a three to six month situation so I havea lot to learn!

Lexie,
While you are home on the weekends, perhaps you could make up some of the Jumbo Muffin Pan Meals (MPM) from the thread below. Freeze the cooked MPM; take it with you; let it thaw in the fridge; zap in the microwave. Depending on the level of your appetite, you might need more than one for a meal. If you did something that is mostly meat, like meatloaf, you could round out the meal with the steamed veggies you referenced, or with a salad from a local salad bar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jumbo Muffin Pan Meals

I got a cheapo, cheapo small microwave for my office and when I changed jobs it went into the basement. When BF had to live in a motel for a week, I sent it with him and he ate like you describe and was able to save some money by not eating out all the time. The only other thing I sent with him was a hotpot for boiling water. I think I paid something like 35-40 dollars for that microwave.

If you have access to a full kitchen on the weekend then you could make a lot of meals ahead of time and take them with you. Have you seen the show on the Cooking Channel, Rachael Ray's Week in a Day. She cooks a whole week worth of meals in one day. Here is a link to some of the recipes. Do you have a freezer?
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachael Ray's Week in a Day.