When we did our kitchen I bought a Cuisinart electric skillet. I cooked everything in it from pasta, eggs, meats and a lot of one pot meals. It was my lifesaver and I still love using it.

Slow cookers AKA Crockpots are nice to have during the reno. You can cook a whole chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, pork loin (I don't eat beef or pork anymore, but used to make a good pork loin recipe cooked in the crockpot)....

Toaster ovens, microwaves, crockpots .....
You should be good to go.

I would at least get an electric skillet or better yet a one or two burner hot plate. That way you can cook up pretty much most things you'd do on a stove. It might take more coordination with less burners but it's kinda like camping :) I don't think I could have survived with just a toaster oven and a microwave. We had toaster, microwave, electric griddle/grill and the BBQ with a side burner (it was summer - if I didn't have that I would have gotten a hot plate for sure.)

We did one-pot meals on the burner, grilled up steaks, made pastas, etc. We barely missed the oven, and made do quite nicely with the rest and barely ever ate out. I prefer to eat at home too, and I was broke enough from the remodel!

Good luck! It can be pretty fun having to 'think outside the box' with the meals :)

Presto makes a nice 16" covered skillet--you can get it at target for about $38. We cooked virtually everything in that pan. Several of the workers asked about it and bought them for their wives for Christmas ;-)

Things to cook--there was a long thread on this, but the big thing is to be flexible. When we didn't feel like fussing we made grilled sandwiches in the skillet--you can make them more upscale by using a good loaf of crusty bread, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers and balsamic vinegar along with any other veggies/meat you like, for example. And when it's been a really long day or there's construction dust floating around don't be afraid to grab the takeout menu. We found a great salad place at the mall and had that quite often, so it doesn't have to be unhealthy.

We used the grill alot, but you may live in snow country and that may not be possible.

Good luck. Treat it like an adventure!

I agree with seaglass7, it is kind of an adventure. I used my panini press frequently when we were renovating the kitchen. It felt almost like a hot meal and it was easy enough to clean up. We had some homemade pesto frozen from the summer with fresh mozzarella, basil and tomoato. I think I will have to make that again soon! I also would make salads and put rotisserie chicken from the grocery store on it. I also borrowed a rice maker from a friend which was nice to have.
Good Luck!

We got a hot plate (which we also use after the renovation for the Whirly-pop since it won't work on our new induction.) With the hot plate, grill, microwave, crock pot we have eaten fairly well. Last night we had spaghettit and metballs with slad and fruit. The night before ham slices, peas and mushrooms, red potatoes, and grapes. Tonight - KFC! It has only been about three weeks but so far we are surviving rather well.

We had a counter top oven and induction hot plate and ate pretty much the same with our temporary kitchen as we did with the real one.

We've been without a kitchen since Sept 1. Wow! Almost 6 months. We have a crock pot, a wok, a rice maker and a micro wave. Betty Crocker has a microwave cookbook which I found second hand. I've made fish with a breaded topping which was devine in the micro. I've cooked spaghetti in the wok. I think we've eaten as well as when we had a stove top and oven. We've eaten a lot of salads though because we planted a garden this spring in anticipation of having no kitchen. We're pressed for money so we've only eaten out a few times.

What we find to be lacking is space. We put towels on the side board and put the micro on it as well as enough plates, silverware and cups. We moved the refrigerator into the dining room and have the dining room table. The crock pot is on an antique sewing machine. We have a cooler of water since the downstairs bath is being remodeled also. Most kitchen stuff is in the cellar on shelving.

Slowcooker. Saved my life last renovation.

OOoohhh...thanks everyone!! I DO have a slow cooker and a rice steamer, too!

furletcity, Im curious...how do you cook pasta in an electric skillet?? We are big pasta eaters and its the one thing I thought we wouldnt be able to make!

I am doing everything everyone else did and I also cooked and froze plain noodles and spaghetti. I froze chili and cornbread. The tuna and noodles froze OK but they got kind of dry so I'd use extra liquid next time. Then I can do the real meal with the crock pot or hot plate. My induction hot plate is backordered until March 20. I am really planning to be in a kitchen of some sort by then! And I do have an electric stove that will return to almost the same place as before so my carpenter says we'll move it when we have to and then move it back each time we can.

cawfeegirl, you didn't mention what your sink situation will be, and I think that makes a difference because you will have to wash whatever you cook in. We had to use our bathroom sinks, which weren't easy to wash anything in, and no way was I washing in our tub, which is a deep jacuzzi, and I don't have a laundry sink. So while I brought my crockpot up to my temp kitchen, I never used it, and I wouldn't have used a hotplate or electric frypan either. For me, it was all about no prep and no clean-up. Before reno, I rarely used my microwave, but without my kitchen, I became the microwave queen. Before reno, I basically shopped the perimeter of the supermarket. During reno, I discovered all kinds of foods I never even knew existed! There's pretty much nothing you can't do in the microwave these days! The downside is that we gained a lot of weight during reno because we ate all kinds of things we normally wouldn't eat. But it's just the two of us. I probably would have been more health conscious if I had to feed kids too. Now that I can cook again, I'm starting to phase back in to our normal eating, and we'll knock the pounds off. But it was an adventure and not too uncomfortable with the minimal clean-up. So I think what I'm saying is if cleanup is going to be cumbersome, keep it simple. If not, you're lucky and probably will eat well and fit into your summer clothes to boot! (if summer ever comes - lol!)

We are into our second week of our kitchen reno and so far so good. I have been trying to use paper as much as possible to minimize clean up but I am lucky to have a utility sink in the basement so I can wash dishes. I just discovered the precooked food at Trader Joe's. I shop there regularly but usually over look the prepackaged/precooked stuff. I bought the soups and frozen meals... they are organic, good and easy to prepare in the micro. I also have an induction burner that I bought off of Ebay for $78 with free shipping. It's been just like having a one burner stove. We have also made waffles in the waffle iron for breakfast. I think squigs is right about the sink situation. Access to the sink for prep or cleanup is the biggest inconvienence in my other wise perfect temp kitchen in my livingroom.

I forgot about using a grill (if yours is accessible during the winter--ours is on our deck, right by the door). We cooked meat, chicken, fish, and veggies on ours. New potatoes we "roasted" in an foil cake pan. We even used it to cook (frozen) king crab legs for Valentine's Day during our reno!

One day I cooked up a batch of each at a neighbor's house:
1. pasta
2. rice
3. ground hambuger with onion
4. ground beef with onion

I put it in the fridge with "toppings" to mix and match: parmesan cheese and butter, spaghetti sauce, refried beans and cheddar cheese (for the rice).

That held us over for lunch and dinner for 2 days. Just plop it on a plate, add stuff, microwave, and there's a meal.

I turned it up high to heat the water and poured the pasta in. Draining it was a pain because I had to carry it to the bathroom, but it worked! I'd pour sauces, veggies, whatever in after it was drained and let it heat through. It didn't make as much as my large stock pots can hold but my teenage son didn't starve.(He may beg to differ) Good luck to you!

I spent time as everyone else has doing some prep... definitely undercook the pasta!

Our favorite pasta crockpot recipe is so easy. I found it online actually.... Go onto the busycooks.com website and type in completely crockpot spaghetti and meatballs. If you are vegetarian, you can use TJ's meatless ones instead. It actually can be ready in 2.5 hours at low and we have added veggies in during the last hour too. And yes, it really does taste like spaghetti-os!

You can also do basic onion/garlic/bell pepper saute in the MW in a large bowl too with a bit more oil than you might otherwise use.

I do agree that cleaning the crockpot was easiest done kneeling by the combo bathtub and using that faucet instead of the bathroom sink. The bathtub is a good place to hide dishes too! ;)

Do take a few minutes and surf the cooking websites. It is truly amazing how many wonderful recipes are out there that are pretty healthy. Oh and TJ's also has pre-cooked rice in several flavors that heats up in the MW in about two minutes!

Be creative and just allow a bit of extra time for prep. It is amazing how much exercise I have obtained by walking from my temp kitchen to the bathroom and back again! :))

We have been without a kitchen since November. The thing I've realized is the more I try to cook, the more dishes I have and doing them in dishpans in the bathtub is getting really old. We have one bathroom and 5 people needing showers or needing to use the bathroom. It takes forever to get a few dishes washed. We are starting to use more microwave meals and sandwiches.

If you have a basic rice cooker (not one of those fuzzy logic ones) you can use it for lots of things: I made soup in mine, cooked pasta in it - set it on 'cook' and leave the lid off, and it should keep cooking. If not, just keep hitting that button back to 'cook' from 'warm. There are a few ideas on the web if you search for "cooking in a rice cooker'. - It's basically an electric saucepan, with two temperatures. With that and a $12 electric ring, we never ate take-out.

poptarts

I've been operating in the mini-kitchen mode for about 2 months now. The worst part is we don't have our normal fridge hooked up...it's in the garage unplugged right now. So, we are using a dorm size fridge, microwave, toaster oven, electric skillet to cook meals. The dorm size fridge drives me the most nuts because there is no room for leftovers at all.

That being said, we have mostly managed to eat dinners at home. The electric skillet is very useful. We do chicken breasts, hamburgers etc. in it. We've also bought some of the Skillet Sensations type meals where you dump in a the packet and stir. Those are actually pretty decent when accompanied by a nice salad or another veggie. I bought a Breville toaster oven at the start of this and it's been helpful too. I can bake potatoes or cook pizza in it. The $200 price has more than been recouped in fewer meals out.

The crock pot is good but as others have said, it's big which is a real pain to wash in the bathroom sink.

I do use the electric skillet to boil water for pasta. It's kind of awkward since it's low and wide, but it still gets the job done.

I miss prep space. We have used all our extra tables to put the small appliances on so I don't have any place to do basic things like chopping or even filling plates. Right now, I sit on the floor with a cutting board to dice an onion. I fend off the cat when I fill plates on the floor.

I can't wait to get my sink, counter space and fridge back. I could live with the toaster oven, microwave, electric skillet set up for awhile if the other things were still there.

Spinach pies.

Buy dough (wheat is best) at the market, wilt the spinach in the microwave, squeeze the extra water out in the sink (keep a colander out). Or buy frozen spinach, but fresh tastes better. Fill and bake in the toaster oven. You can add cheese (sliced or parmesan) if you want, or olives, or pesto, or red pepper flakes etc. to fancy it up.

If you make extra spinach filling, you can freeze it and use it as a pasta topping later.

If you have leftover dough, make some little cinnamon-sugar knots for breakfast or something. Or try some primitive apple turnovers with sliced apple and cinnamon sugar. Or a base for breakfast pizza with yogurt and fruit (sprinkle with a little sugar before baking).

I have a Cuisinart griddle/panini grill that I love. I find it is much more versatile than a toaster oven. And safer.

You'll get through this!

I've never done a full-fledged kitchen remodel but I do love my Nesco Roaster Oven. It makes a handy second oven at Holidays and I take it up to our lake cabin and cook with it outside and wouldn't consider having a party without it. I bet you'd use it during your remodel and keep using it afterwards.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nesco Roaster Oven

Does your local grocery store have a salad bar? I loved ours as a way to get the leafy greens in the diet. Also a big fan of the electric skillet...makes mean crab cakes, french toast, grilled sandwiches. I froze a lot in advance and that helped enormously. We only ate out for Friday night pizza nights during the 3 months we had no kitchen. It's an adventure! Good luck.

Sandwiches:the possibilities are endless. Turkey and cranberry, ham and swiss, tuna, veggie, roast beef and provolone,PB&J, grilled cheese (cooked in small foreman grill), etc., etc., etc. Serve with a side of sliced apples, baby carrots or oranges. Sandwiches were the easiest to prepare living out of our laundry room with one little sink. I am so sick of sandwiches. We had burgers and chicken grilled on the barbecue a few times but it was a lot of clean up and prep.