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Black bean soup.
I've not made this in a crockpot, but it should work fine.
Dump everything in and heat it up until the onions are soft.

Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Chopped smoked sausage
3 cans black beans, undrained
1 can Rotel tomato
1 can diced tomato
1 can corn

Top it with some chopped cilantro.

Hope your renovation goes smoothly!

I realize that this is not actually "cooking," but Amy's frozen meals cooked in the microwave have gotten me through some hectic times!

There are a few truly fantastic threads about kitchen renovations and how folks lived through them, including what they cooked, on eGullet. If you go to the Forums and search for renovation, they'll come up. One of the best I've seen is entitled Varmint's New Kitchen. Great reading, and it will also remind you that others have survived the ordeal. Good luck!

I vote grilled veggies and some sort of meat! :) Use your grill before it's too cold. I love marinading meat with brown sugar and soy sauce for the grill; it caramelizes deliciously.

And if your grill is fiery enough (intended pun) maybe you can toast marshmallows and make s'mores. Good luck with the renovations!

I hate to say it, but Fresh Direct's Heat and Eat meals are terrific. I just had their balsamic-marinated chicken with winter squash, and some broccolini with garlic on the side, and it was insanely good. If I weren't dieting, some of their mashed potatoes would have rounded things off perfectly. And I've been blown away by their shrimp dishes as well -- the shrimp comes out of the microwave PERFECTLY cooked.

I have an indoor electric grill pan, and even though its far from ideal, it works well enough to get me through times when my old stove is on the fritz. (apt dweller) I love to mix sliced marinated chicken with lots of veggies, I hate to say it but uncle bens makes some quick easy 90 second rice dishes you can just pop in the micro. And don't forget there is always the old stand by of sandwiches, I go through the local fresh market and find things I've never tried and roll it in a tortilla. quick easy and you can find some really good combos. Good luck and just remember, even though it may feel like it takes forever, this to will pass. wink

Congrats on the kitchen makeover!

The waffle iron can be a wondrous thing. Try grilled cheese in there-- butter the outside of the bread and put cheese and deli meat inside. You can also make sweet waffles for breakfast or dessert (chocolate waffles with ice cream!), or for that matter, have breakfast for dinner with bacon in the micro and homemade waffles. Or you can make savory waffles to have on the side instead of mashed potatoes-- don't add much sugar or any vanilla; instead add a few herbs and salt and pepper (or look up some recipes online for savory waffles).

I love my mom's creole pot roast recipe: dump a bunch of beef into the crock pot-- I use a half pound of cubed beef for stew for two people, or an arm roast for lots of leftovers, or whatever, along with a small can of diced tomatoes and a diced onion. Cover with water and throw in a little salt, pepper, and beef Better Than Bouillon or the like. Let it cook on low all day, then about an hour before eating, taste the gravy and adjust to your liking. Turn up to high, throw in a bunch of rotini or ziti noodles (up to a whole box) and let sit for a half hour or until noodles are cooked. Then top with - gasp- a few large chunks of velveeta and let it melt. Stir all together and enjoy. Soo good.

Or super easy stew is a bunch of cubed beef, quartered potatoes (I prefer red or yukon gold), a bag of baby carrots, and a quartered onion. Cover with water and add some beef bouillon or a can or package of french onion soup mix. Let cook all day. Or make it without the potatoes and make mashed potatoes from flakes and add seasonings to your liking. I assemble my pot roast like this: layer of mashed potatoes, a little shredded cheese, then meat and veggies, then gravy, then french fried onions crisped up in the micro for a minute.

I've been enjoying the new(?) boxed frozen veggies from Green Giant-- they have their own sauce and are pretty good, especially for a dollar! The veggies cook up just right. Bake potatoes in your toaster oven at 450 for an hour, microwave some broccoli in white cheddar sauce, and pour on top for a yummy meal.

While my kitchen is not under renovation, I'm at a new job this fall and have been really exhausted. I'm all about convenient meals. Please don't hate me, friends, for the velveeta recommendation.

With a nuker, grill and crockpot, you'll have no trouble whatsoever. Soups, pot roast, whole chickens, veggies -- pretty much everything you probably already cook other than sauteed, stirfried, boiled, and the like.

My parents got a hot plate to use while their kitchen was gutted. It was inexpensive and made all the difference for them.

Now, granted, I'm in So. Calif., but we use our grill year round. It's a built-in on our big covered back porch, right out the kitchen door, so it's super convenient. We can even use it when it rains. If it's *very* cold (that usually means in low 40s around here), put on a coat. There's hardly anything that can't be cooked on the grill!

You're going to do just fine. At least when it comes to eating! On the other hand, you might want to kill each other before it's over, but that's another story all together! Enjoy your new kitchen!