Kitchen Challenge

For most people, the loss of day to day routines came with the quarantine. Many of us found ourselves pretty bored. I know that my folks as well as a few friends of mine set up 1000+ piece puzzles, and would work on them throughout the day when they were feeling listless, and they had already cleaned their kitchen…for the umpteenth time. While a jigsaw puzzle is a great way to see progress – of time passing, I personally love a good experiment or challenge. I decided to challenge myself to not use my oven through the month of June. Living in Arizona, June is the start of things really heating up. June is typically pretty mild but I figured if I started the challenge in June, by the time the really hot months of July and August came around I’d be deep into the challenge, quite adept at not using the oven and wouldn’t even think about using it.

Now, as much as I love an experiment, I love a kitchen gadget/appliance even more. I have an Instant Pot, an air fryer, a crockpot, a George Foreman grill and of course an outdoor grill. I collect these tools and then fail to use them with any regularity. The challenge was to use those tools along with the stove top for the dinner meals.

The first week I used the Instant Pot once, the Crock Pot twice, air fryer 3 times, and the outdoor grill once, which looks successful except I didn’t take into account side dishes, in which case I used the stovetop 3 times, and the oven 3 times.

The second week was much better; the crockpot cooked 3 meals this week. I used the air fryer once and we grilled once. I used the stovetop once and we ate leftovers once. The oven did get used, but only one time this week. I’m making progress.

The peanut gallery started getting restless in the third week, requesting dishes that they love and hadn’t had in at least 3 weeks. I explained my experiment/challenge, and while they didn’t love it, they all realized that unless they wanted to do the cooking, those meals would have to wait. Just think of how great they’re going to taste when I finally do make them. This week the air fryer was the star of the show, making 4 appearances. The crock pot was used once, we had take out once and the stovetop was used 5 times either for a meal or a side dish.

The last week was another successful week, and again the air fryer was the star.I used it 4 times. Second place was the stovetop; once for a main meal and once for a side dish. The crock pot again cooked one meal, and one night my folks had the kids over for dinner, so the hubs and I got takeout. One night this week we had BLTs for dinner, and I usually cook the bacon in the oven. This time I tried it in the air fryer.

I feel like this was a successful experiment. I progressed to not using the oven, I increased my usage of my collection of kitchen toys, and I definitely did not overheat while cooking in the kitchen. We’ll see how my electric bill compares with last year’s bill. I’m also set up and ready to continue this challenge into the really hot months. Hopefully my family doesn’t revolt and demand their favorite meals.

Time to think of a new experiment for next month. 😉

P.S…feel free to reach out and share your favorite non-oven related meals.