Creativity in the kitchen

I've lived in Ocala now for a little over 3 months. Don has been here a little over 4 months.  We still don't have a regular cooking stove.  The one that was here when we moved was a gas stove, and we want to have as few bills monthly as possible, so we got rid of the propane tank and the gas stove (an ad on the local Craigslist had it gone the same day) and only have an electric bill and the internet bill now.   Eventually if things work out, we'd love to see how much power we can create with solar panels, but at the moment, finances don't allow for us to go that route.   However, the point is, the stove we brought from Iowa is electric, and there isn't enough power or an outlet for the stove, and we can't afford to hire an electrician right now to put one in for us.  So, we are stuck without a stove.

Luckily for us, we have always been the king and queen of small kitchen appliances.  At last count, we had 8 "alternative" methods for cooking.  So, as long as we have electricity, we can cook, we may just have to get a bit creative about it. 

For example, for the month that Don was here before me, he subsisted on hot dogs and sausages cooked in the rotisserie and rice cooked in the rice cooker.  When I came down, I had packed 2 crock pots, the NuWave oven, an electric skillet, and an electric wok. One of the first things we purchased was, of course, a microwave.  By trial and error, I have learned that you can cook macaroni and cheese in the electric skillet, the electric wok and the crock pot.   Any type of pasta can actually be cooked in either of these appliances, as well as the rice cooker.

Just a few of the many of our kitchen appliances on top of the non working stove, which makes a great counter top by the way!

We do well for the most part, but I was stumped by how to boil eggs.  I tried using the electric skillet, but the water wasn't deep enough.  I tried boiling water in my electric kettle and then putting it in the slow cooker with the eggs on low for about an hour, but the eggs were runny and not done enough.  Finally I turned to the one source of information that is always available in today's world, the internet.   By Googling "Crock Pot Boiled Eggs," I came upon my answer.  Where better to find out how to make eggs, well, anything, in the crock pot than a page called "Moms with Crock Pots.com?"   I tried it and viola, they came out almost perfect!   I say "almost" because there were a few that had burnt spots on them, probably from me leaving them on too long or something, but the second time I tried it, I put just about 1/2 an inch of water in the crock pot with the eggs and then they turned out perfect!  Imagine the ease of throwing gently placing your desired number of eggs in the bottom of the crock pot, turning it on high and adding a bit of water, and walking away for 2 hours.  After the 2 hours, plunge the eggs into cold water and keep rinsing until they are no longer hot to touch, then use as usual.   I have found my new best way to make boiled eggs, thank you Moms with Crock Pots.   There are also a ton of other very interesting recipes on the site, and since I am somewhat limited in my cooking methods (as mentioned above), anything that I can make with a crock pot is a rock star recipe to me!!!!

Viola, Hard boiled eggs, crockpot style.