10 Surprising Uses For Your Microwave

The microwave has many uses besides heating up your leftovers. Here are 10 other uses for your microwave, some of these may surprise you. 

Poach an Egg

Poached eggs are great, if you have time to make them. Marking a poached egg in the microwave is so unbelievably easy you will wonder why you didn’t try this method sooner. Crack an egg into a small microwaveable bowl such as a custard
cup and cover with waxed paper; microwave for a minute. You may have to play with the cook times.

Steam Vegetables

Did you know that microwaving your veggies actually helps them retain nutrients? The microwave shortens the cook time which helps your vegetables retain water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and the B vitamins.

Cook Bacon

Cooking bacon in the microwave is great if you just want a few slices without the hassle of dirtying a pan. All microwaves vary in heating times but the best ratio to follow while cooking bacon is 1 minute per slice.

Decrystallize Honey

Over time honey will begin to crystalize. One fast and easy method to bring your honey back to a liquid state is to microwave it with the lid off, in 30 second intervals until the honey becomes liquid again.  

Soften Brown Sugar

Keep you brown sugar in its packaging; place a moist paper towel on top of the brown sugar and microwave for 20 seconds.  

Squeeze extra juice from citrus fruits

A lemon or lime from the refrigerator is harder to juice than one that is at room temperature or warmed up. To get the most out of your citrus, microwave your lemon or lime for 20 seconds before squeezing. You will be surprised how much extra juice you can get.

Bake Potatoes

Only 10 minutes stand in the way between you and a delicious baked potato. All you have to do is scrub the potato well and prick a few times with a fork. Microwave on a plate for 5 minutes, then turn over the potato and microwave for another 5 minutes. Once cooked cut the potato in half and garnish with your favorite toppings.

Disinfect Sponges

It’s known that sponges are breeding grounds for germs and it would be so easy to just throw them away but that’s not exactly cost effective. All you have to do is wet your sponge and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  This will disinfect your sponge of 99% of harmful bacteria. Just be careful when removing the nuked sponge.

Toast Nuts

You can toast nuts in a fraction of the time it would take in an oven. Spread desired amount of nuts on a plate and microwave for 3 minutes, making sure that you stir them every minute.

Health Aids

Have an ache and wish that your gel pack could be warm? Heat your gel pack for 1 minute and then use; just be sure that your gel pack is room temperature before microwaving.