Inverter microwave ovens - reliable?

I have a new Westinghouse 700 watt microwave, still in the box which is 13*14*20 inches. The microwave itself would probably fit inside your unit.

My dad bought it a few years ago for their motor home, and never opened the box. It was in the huge pile of stuff they left here when they sold their house in Florida and moved north. I haven't opened it, because most of what I use a microwave for warns you not to use less than a 1 KW unit.

The only thing "wrong" with a 700W unit is that it won't heat things as quickly. Which -- except for bacon and a few other things -- is all that microwaves are good for -- heating and re-heating.

Our National (aka Panasonic) Genius II from 1979 was running perfectly until a power surge nuked it last year. Only ever needed a belt replaced. Weighed a manly amount, about four times the weight of a contemporary unit.

I often utter that common remark "they don't make them like they used to". Someone once said that's a sign I'm an old-timer. I replied that its a sign that I remember how well they used to make things.

Some items are marked, Do not use a microwave rated under 1 KW, to prevent possible food posioning from under cooked meat. I have three that are 1 KW or more, so why open the box? One is in the kitchen, another is in the small cottage behind the house, and the third is a spare. There are times I feel so bad I have to use a frozen dinner, and i don't want to take chances. Other times I cook with one of my 5.5 quart crock pots.

I kinda, maybe, see the logic in that.

One should not be cooking meat in a microwave. (Other than bacon, I'm not sure what sorts of mean /can/ be successfully cooked.

If you're heating up already-cooked items -- such as chicken nuggets -- the only way you /might/ have a problem would be if you stuffed the oven with several dozen, and the food stayed at an incubatory temperature long enough for the bacteria to grow.

Even this is highly unlikely, as we're talking about pre-cooked food.

No obvious reason, other than that you raised the issue. (Nothing personal.)

You'll probably be upset to learn that, when I eat frozen dinners at work, I let them completely defrost before shoving them in the microwave. It's quicker, saves a bit of energy, and I'm not dead -- yet.

A high power microwave will cook most meat, but doesn't brown it. One thing that helps is to cook it about 2/3 of the required time, pour off the fat and juices, and finish cooking. I cook hamburgers and small steaks in mine. i add the spices and some dried onions before cooking, so the steam and juices re hydrate the chopped onions and add their flavor to the meat.

I have made meat loaf as well, but they are hard to drain the fat and a little messy. I also precook some meat for homemade soup, to reduce the cooking time in the crock pot. Another trick is to add a little instant mashed potatoes to the soup to thicken it.

My favorite frozen dinner is a pot roast, with a side of green beans. Nothing is completely pre-cooked, and it has the warning about using sub KW microwaves. Sometimes they are in the freezer for a month, and others, they are daily meals.

Having to survive on a minuscule VA Disability pension has forced me to get creative because a full tank of propane for the gas stove just isn't in the budget.

I generally only use frozen dinners when I'm too sick to cook, and I never know when that will be. I used to put what I planned to microwave into the fridge the night before, but quit when I had to throw out food that spoiled before I could cook it. Its hard to be ready to fix a planed meal on time, and some days I can barely even face food, let alone what was planned.

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling so bad. One of my best friends died several years ago from cancer-induced starvation. He almost completely lost his appetite, even to the point of finding many foods bad-tasting.

If there's anything I can do to help, let me know and I'll try.

"William Sommerwerck" wrote in news:gp5j90$g5n$ snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org:

smoke pot. 8-)

(is that an offer to supply some MJ??? )

They used to sell microwaves with browners. Of course, they still make combp microwave/ Turbo ovens. I could not live without my little turbo oven. Everybody is amazed who use it. You can cook most anything in the microwave safely buy covering it and let it steam all the way through. I would recommend my turbo oven but its not made anymore. There is no substitute, and I have fixed it once. I'll try to keep fixing it as long as I can. The burner connections go bad. i have two other turbo ovens and they don't compare.

greg

snipped-for-privacy@zekfrivolous.com (GregS) wrote in news:gp5og2$9d2$ snipped-for-privacy@usenet01.srv.cis.pitt.edu:

cooking a STEAK in a microwave? Sacrilege. you might as well boil it. same for the burger.

Cooking in the turbo oven is the only way, except for charbroil. I never said a microwave was the best way, allthough a combo turbo/microwave can be used in turbo mode. It still does not brown properly cause a turbo/microwave has no exposed radiating elements.

I tried getting the company to start making this oven again. Communicating with companies like Salton who marketed the Toatmaster consumer grade product, is next to impossible.

greg