by all means use that grill. My husband heads out there in the warmer months and takes grill duty. you can grill veggies in addition to all the meats.... [we buy some cheap cuts sometimes and they get marinated ]..... the leftovers from larger numbers of romas/ onions /peppers/ goes on top of rice or pasta for a few days. sliced or quarter potatoes can get the girlscout treatment wrapped in foil and steamed on the grill..I've done that.... do the kids like the grill w dad / or you? that takes things to a more fun level and some of the pressure off you if dad will participate. not sure if ths is weber style grill .......but a small gas grill on a porch or out in the yard is a nice investment if you dont have one. "food from every country" isnt the cheapest [except beans and rice] and kids sometimes are okay w more basic w a twist , like grilled veggies and then add the mac and cheese from the blue box or cheese sandwich or egg salad sandwich [some eggs are coming down]. I've been impressed w the veggie mixtures in the freezer case like spirals and all sorts of others and pulling from frozen bags on top of the rice or pasta as said , w parmesan cheese and my usual olve oil is many times a supper for me. you dont mention use of microwave ......that style is quick and selection of frozen bagged items is so varied now..... I dont know where your microwave is...you can get a cheap one / even temporary quite easily...

Yes! a microwave is kind of a must have. We also used a single burner induction hob. It was great for frying, stir frying etc. But, must have an induction - magnetic pan & am not sure I’d buy one now unless you have more than a couple months of this build left. The pan for induction will work on all other cooktops so it’s not a waste to buy. If a magnet sticks to bottom of your current cook ware it will work on induction. You don’t mention where you live but BBQ season is here.

Thanks so much for the ideas. Im definitely going to try the potatoes on the grill? How long do they take and how do you know when they are done? My husband will help, but he is often not home till 6, so I’m usually giving him fast stuff to cook like sausages or burgers.

I just mention eating foods from every country to say that we like a wide range of flavors. I just feel a little stuck in a rut. I have a load of seasonings and such to work with already though. Lots of spices and curry pastes. Honestly a really good beans and rice recipe or a good lentil recipe would take me far.

Love the idea of frozen veggie mixes. I had kind-of forgotten about those!

I am one of those people who is highly suspicious of microwaves. Lol. I’m kind of a hippy. We gave it up years ago and aren’t even putting one in the new remodel. I was thinking about trying a toaster oven though!

We do have a little electric two burner thing that I’m using to make breakfast and heat up soup. The challenge I’m having is that when I try to sauté anything it gets grease on the walls in my dining room and we already painted! So I set it up on the porch , and now I have to go outside to make a dang quasadilla. Ha!

The weather is getting better though thank goodness! Our grill is pretty ancient but it gets the job done.

I really do feel for you! Do you have a full size fridge? If so, can you batch cook? Then you could grill meats and veggies one day to use for multiple meals during the week. Rice bowls with beans, chopped veggies, cheese and sauces, etc are a go to in my house.

I do have a full size fridge so that is helpful! Can you share your favorite rice bowl combo for me? Is this like a taco flavored one? We do a lot of Asian rice bowls, but my kids are sick of my recipe. Haha. Got to put that rice cooker to work!

potatoes were quicker than I thought.....I did them a few times last year. depends on the size you cut them into. use the "heavier " foil and make the packet w moisture...can add things for flavour if you care to. was it 30 min??? you can check them and up the heat periodically ...they stay really hot in the foil off to the side if you then go on to burgers or other things . I have a couple books on grillling..there are amazing things you can do on the grill . If the fatigue and so on gets to you..chopped up fruit in a bowl or zip lock bags w "grab" permission for kids along w a healthy granola bar / yogurt/ toaster waffles w jam and peanut butter isnt going to hurt for another month if the meal activity is burdensome . You want to cut stress as the project sounds like an energy zapper.... that means simplify wherever you can. I never agree about total rejection of microwave use but thats a choice except when you get the scientific data about nutrient preservation of veggies / along w no waste w frozen options.... some nutrients are released upon cooking as opposed to "raw" consumption. My diet is definitely more veggie leaning and that means all the methods between sautéing/ grilled/ some raw/ steaming/ AND microwave. I use the microwave routinely even w kids gone.....in households w kids I dont see how the microwave could be anything but useful. Curious what is the"suspicion"? but i guess you don't have to answer. I'd be more suspicious of the lining on the insides of tin cans so I spend a little more to get soup boxes or make a small meal rather than soup from a can routinely.

Honestly I’d have have to dig up 5 year old research and don’t have time between nursing and trying to figure out how to remodel a kitchen and teach the teen algebra. Haha! So we will just have to chalk it up to I read some things that concerned me at some point.

When I say canned soup, I actually mean boxed mostly, or BPA free. I also do a lot of homemade ramen with rice noodles and homemade broth and a boiled egg. But the kids are sort of over my soup. I’ll probably pivot to mostly grilling now that it’s warming up!

What about grain bowls? Easy enough to make quinoa, some steamed and/or raw veggies, tahini dressing and a hard boiled egg or some poached fish or chicken?

Think batch cooking tactics. I work long hours, so I cook extra everything, for future meals. I use my instant pot to do a big batch of barley and other grains on weekends, then portion them out to freeze. Same with peppers and onions, which go into so many recipes. I marinate chicken and pork and grill it all at once. Now for weeknights, I just pull out already cooked grains and proteins, and just add a fresh steamed vegetable or salad.

If you are going to go to the effort of cooking, make enough to last you for a few meals, so you dont have to do full efforts every night.

We were in a temp Lucien for a very long time and purchased a large toaster oven that could cook a Turkey it was so big.
Something like this picture, it was amazing . You could probably find one used on marketplace . A lot of people are now using an air fryer.

Hi there, can someone tell me how i can remove this post, I didn’t mean to send all the information that went with i

@poorgirl You should be able to edit or delete your own post - but the two poorgirl / Poorgirl posts are different sources or user names,

Oh no, i wonder why i cant see that, I’m not seeing anywhere to delete it.

KW PNW Z8 , I where would I find the button to delete or edit the post as I’m only seeing the thumbs up or the flag

@ewahlwriting I hear many raving about their instapots & air fryers. Seem like useful appliances especially in a situation where no cooktop or oven available for long periods. I don’t have either appliance so can’t speak to their use. But, I think they both come in many price ranges so might be worth checking out both to see if you’d use either one after your kitchen is done too.

@Poorgirl - look at the posts under the name Poorgirl & poorgirl - those are two different user ID sign ons - see the different icon for each & one is upper case P, one is lower case p. The ’Edit / Delete X’ functions appear at bottom right of the posts made under each sign on & are there for the person - sign on who made that post only along with the thumbs up & flag functions that appear under all posts. Your questions are appearing under both names so I assume you somehow set up two user ID’s

You’ve got some great suggestions. I am sorry you’re so stressed with this remodel. I buy rotisserie chickens from the supermarket for $6. They can be used many different ways. And, yes, frozen veggies have come a long way. I’ve been on a recent kick of adding a fried egg over frozen (but heated up) sweet potatoes and whatever veggies I have, frozen or fresh. It’s easy, you can do in a bowl and not unhealthy. Good luck! I hope you get into your new space soon.

+ one to the grill comments (try grilled peaches or pineapple with some cinnamon sprinkled on for dessert. Yum!) Another + one for the crockpot / slow cooker idea. I make chili in mine quite often, and have done chicken, ribs, steel cut oats, and even a cake (in a separate Pyrex placed into the slow cooker.) I have cookbooks just for slow cookers and for the grill and of course you can find recipes for anything online. Enjoy!

We are going through this now and I'm about done with it lol. It's just hubby and I, so I feel for you going through this remodel with kiddos. (Well, we have two fur kids who I feed a raw diet and prepping their food in our makeshift kitchen has been a challenge!).

We have a hot plate, convection toaster oven, microwave, crock pot and grill. We grill ALL THE TIME and grill enough for the whole week. We either grill veggies or roast them in toaster oven. You could do chicken breasts in the crock pot and shred for tacos/burritos/rice bowls. I add chipotle seasoning and pineapple salsa, but obviously use what your family enjoys. Brown up some ground turkey for tacos too. Both of those freeze really well. We've had oatmeal with fresh fruit or healthy cereals for several dinners. Oh and something we discovered. You can cook a frozen pizza on the grill! We've done that a few times.

Good luck with your project and hopefully it's not too much longer!

We’ve been living in a temp kitchen for 5 weeks so I feel you. Kids have had lots of hot dogs and grilled chicken or steak, rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, microwaveable Mac n cheese or mashed potatoes, anything I can pop in the air fryer. Cereal, sandwiches, canned veggies.

If you need any appliances see if you can borrow one from friends or family instead of buying.. my mom let us use her air fryer and instant pot for a couple weeks.

Costco deli section meals work great with grill as oven- just preheat and keep off direct heat

We have had a temporary kitchen for over 4 months and I use the Instant Pot at least 3 times a week. There are great recipes out there for soups, pasta dishes, rice dishes, etc. It is super-useful and easy. We also have a microwave, 2-burner hot plate and countertop convection oven, but I use the Instant Pot most.

Here are some easy and tasty meals from Costco:

The soup is a bit spicy. Add extra cut up cooked chicken to make a hearty soup.

The lamb is really tasty. Boil in the bag to heat up.

Get a couple of flank steaks at Costco. Marinade for 24 hours and cook on the grill. Leftovers are great for sandwiches, quesadillas or on salads.

The crockpot - search for some good ole fashioned stews and have with rice! Stews with dumplings, meat and veg in one cooker meal done.

Cheap family foods for temporary kitchen but no microwave? hmm. You might need an instant pot/other electric pressure cooker.

Dig out some cookie sheets to prop up behind your burners so you don't get the walls grubby. Cooking outside is great, but sometimes you need to cook inside. :) (Certain foods require ventilation...you know which ones!)

Red beans & rice? (grill sausage on the side so baby doesn't get spiced up). Can use canned beans or get instructions for crockpot

Burrito/taco spread (kids can assemble their own. You can store prepped ingredients in fridge and get a few meals out of it.)

Spaghetti & marinara? You can do the one pot method where you cook the pasta in the sauce with extra water (good method for camping as well as for washing dishes in the bath tub).

Don't expect your sanity to be intact after all this, though. That's just asking too much.

I used my grill almost exclusively when we renovated our kitchen. My saviors were disposable aluminum half pans with lids. A pound of dry pasta, 4 cups of liquid (pasta or alfredo sauce and water), whatever veggies, cheese and meat you want to use. Sausage put in whole but raw ground beef you can just drop in small pieces. Cover tightly and cook on a preheated grill with indirect heat on low for about an hour or so.

Did the same with rice dishes but adjusted the liquid based on the direction on the rice package. This was usually chicken or pork based.

Another favorite was a sort of low country boil. Same disposable pan, cover tightly, same cooking method: sliced kielbasa, frozen corn or corn on the cob, a can of diced tomatoes, baby potatoes or cut up potatoes, Old Bay Seasoning and some beer or water.

Lastly: Nachos (same pan no pan cover) - Top tortilla chips with a small package of pre-cooked pulled pork, some salsa and cheese. Heat on the grill with the grill cover down and serve with whatever toppings. Keep an eye on it as it only takes a few minutes. Quick and easy.