I have been experimenting with using Glad Microwave Steaming Bags for things that, shall we say, are NOT included in the use directions on the box...such as RICE (yes, if not done carefully, the zipper may come apart and blow food gunk ALL over your MW!) and PASTA! Mmmmmm, fast and good. But here is the trick:
When, for example, making four servings of rice and vermicelli from a package mix, just dump the rice and seasonings from the packet along with two cups of water into the bag and seal the zipper well, but let the rice "soak" by cooking on high for just 5 minutes and then let the whole thing rest a while before continuing. This keeps the bag from exploding. I've gotten fluffy rice by coming back after while and cooking another 5 to 7 minutes OR scrumptious chewy sticky rice by cooking longer the second time. Hubby likes a little crust on the outside of his, and if left in for 10 minutes or longer the rice touching the bag lightly browns, but the inside is still moist but slightly chewy, a bit like sticky rice.
We prefer our meals a bit healthier, so instead of dumping the whole box mix into our steaming bags, we put half of the white rice and half of the seasoning in each of two bags and add an equal amount of instant brown rice. One goes in the refrigerator all ready to nuke another day. One goes in the microwave and becomes dinner. Using this method, we get half the salt, and the extra nutrients that brown rice offers, but also the nicest texture of any brown rice I've tasted. The other advantage is no pans to clean up and any leftovers get zipped right back up in the bag,which goes into the refrigerator until it is time to warm it up again. In theory, the bags are disposable, we in the course of preparing a meal, I tend to used them several times, and once again if there are leftovers.
Note that when I make rice this way I leave the butter those box directions called for out, and put some sparingly over the top of the cooked rice to melt. So yummers!
But did somebody say pasta? I'll experiment with this some more, but today I did take a deep breath and made what turned out to be a lovely single serving of creamy cheesy chicken macaroni in a few seconds of my own time and unattended cooking time of a bit over 10 minutes, with no dishes to wash. How?
I threw a handful of dry macaroni in the bottom of a steaming bag, covered it with a random amount of cold water and just like the rice, let it cook on high for 5 minutes and then sit a while to let the pasta soak up some water, soften, and of course, keep the bag from exploding. Then after a short time I came back and cooked it another 5 minutes after carefully opening the bag and adding a chunk of cream cheese, a dollop of cream of condensed chicken soup, and plenty of black pepper. It was perfectly al dente, and delicious. In fact, it was tons better than those oversalted although convenient frozen boxes of stuff from the supermarket. Next time I'm going to try tossing in a handful of broccoli florets. What I especially like about being able to whip up single portions of yummy pasta is that now it is no trouble at all to make each person's own favorite comfort food. If he feels like a meaty red sauce for his pasta and I want Shrimp Alfredo, no problem, no mess, and again, no dishes to wash. Have I died and gone to heaven?
