Microwave Angel Hair with Alfredo Sauce

Welcome back to another episode of Little Cub Cooks (But Not Really)!

In today's post we will attempt to cook one of my favorite meals: pasta. I come from a family that ate spaghetti at least three times a week, preferably at least once a day, so the severe lack of quality pasta I can find in State College has really hit me hard. Pasta is so simple to make and can be prepared in numerous tasty ways. The one problem: I have no stove.

Of course I've had those microwavable mac'n'cheese and garlic and herb noodles that make about four-forkfuls worth of severely sub-par pasta, but as a (half-blooded) Italian, this just won't do. I thought to myself, "All you really need for pasta is boiling water and some sauce, how hard could it be?"

And so: Microwave Angel Hair Alfredo.

Ingredients:

1. Your choice of pasta (1 box)
2. Water
3. A medium bowl (the bigger the better)
4. Your choice of sauce (1 jar)
5. Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

For the first experiment I chose angel hair pasta, as I figured the thinness would make it easier to properly cook in the microwave. The steps for this recipe are practically as simple as cooking on a stove at home.

First, fill your bowl completely with water. This is where bigger bowls come in handy, as you want your pasta to be completely submerged in the water. I used a 4 cup pyrex bowl I found at target (for only $5 and super cute!) since it is the biggest bowl I have, so your cooking times may vary slightly. 

Put the covered (but please leave a little breathing room!) bowl in the microwave for ten minutes. Once you have ensured the water is boiling, add the noodles. Of course, if you have a large bowl, you could cook the entire box of pasta (which would mean leftovers!), however, if you don't, a proper serving size is about as much pasta as you can fit between your thumb and forefinger while making an "ok" sign (like this: 👌). Microwave the pasta for another six minutes (or the suggested time on the box).

Now this is the tricky part; drain the water from the bowl. My life flashed before my eyes as I held this bowl of boiling water, realizing I had no strainer to dump my noodles in. But never fear! After a moment of thought, I grabbed my winter gloves and a fork (gloves to hold the bowl without burning my hands and fork to keep the pasta from going down the drain) and was able to successfully drain 98% of the water.

Once your pasta is drained, it is time to add the sauce. There's luckily no real measuring for this, just eyeball the amount of sauce you prefer on your pasta (about two dollops is good for me) and mix it directly into your noodles. To warm the sauce (especially if the sauce was refrigerated), pop the bowl back into the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Add about an entire can of parmesan cheese, and you've made yourself some pasta!

My finished meal.

As I mentioned earlier, this simple recipe can be slightly adjusted to make myriad other dishes (try different sauces, add some tomatoes, pick some different cheeses). I was rather surprised by the tenderness of the pasta; I had expected the texture to be mushy, maybe even undercooked. I found myself a little disappointed in the sauce, though that could be attributed to my selection (I picked the cheapest one). The best part about it is the price! The box of pasta and jar of sauce cost about $6 total, another three for the cheese, but I've barely eaten all of it. Let's say this makes just three meals, that puts us at $3 a meal! 

I hope you get a chance to try microwaving pasta, and I'll see you next week!