Certified for Microwave Cooking

These recipes brought to you by Litton microwave cooking products! Not really, but I did use the company book, Microwave Cooking – Convenience Foods. Despite being hideously out of date (published in 1981), it still lives with the real cookbooks, and not in the "camp" library with Knitting with Dog Hair (a youngster from 1997), Attractive Lawn Furnishings (1946), and The New Joys of Jell-O (1973). Of course, when I glanced through the book on Tuesday, I didn't really expect to find anything edible. Probably because of the 80's stigma. Or that it's a promotional cookbook. From the 80's. I was pleasantly surprised to find at least two recipes that I could work with.

Tonight's dinner came out of the Litton cookbook, although, of course I had to add a pinch of spice to the food, as everything looked (and no doubt tasted) a little bland right out of the microwave. For the roll-ups, I used seasoned roast beef deli slices instead of old, dried beef, and baked the whole mess in the t.o. to bring out the flavors without making the food soggy. For the Wild Rice Casserole, I added the spices instead of the recommended sour cream, though I wish I had used real roasted chicken instead of canned – the whole dish ended up tasting like tuna, I think because the cans looked so similar that my brain was switching the flavors around. Still, everything in the book, even with alterations, makes a satisfying meal, and it all came out of two dorm-style appliances at around 10 minutes. Sweet.

Asparagus Roll-Ups

Things pilfered from the pantry:

hollandaise sauce

1 bunch asparagus spears

1 package roast beef deli slices

1. Microwave asparagus in 1 inch water for 5 minutes (crisp) or 7 minutes (mushy).
   
2. Drain, roll bunches of five spears up in two slices of roast beef. Bake in the toaster oven on 375^OF for 6-7 minutes.
   
3. Whatever kind of hollandaise sauce you're using (mix, store-bought, or homemade), make it now while the roll-ups bake.
   
4. Serve drizzled in sauce.
   

Wild Rice Casserole

Things pilfered from the pantry:

2 packages Uncle Ben's 90-second wild rice

1 package frozen chopped spinach

2 cups cooked, chopped up chicken (or 2 cans of chopped chicken)

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon basil

2 cloves garlic

1. Microwave rice by package directions. Microwave spinach in a large, 1 quart, casserole dish for 4 minutes, stir with a fork, and microwave an additional 3 minutes.
   
2. Mix together chicken, spinach, and rice along with seasonings and pressed garlic. Microwave 2 minutes.
   

Enjoy!