Lets Talk about Lemons… In the “Microwave” That is…….

At the request of a reader…….I bring to you, a tip for cleaning your microwave!

Wayyy back last year I did a really neat post on using lemons around the house. Why? I have a lemon tree and an overabundance of them every single year. And no.. as much as I love Lemon Bars, after 3 trays I really get tired of eating them day in and day out! So lets chat about using them in the most important room in the house: the KITCHEN!

My microwave was DIRT-AYYY just a few days ago. Know why? I re-heated spaghetti but forgot to cover.  Ugh. WHY did I not think of covering it? Who knows. In a rush probably. Screaming four year old “I SAID I’M HUNGRY!” prompted me to shove in the leftovers from the night before (with our cheap Armour meatballs) and zap it for a few minutes.

So how do you clean it? Well, you can use bleach. Vinegar. Softscrub if you choose. But me? LEMONS. Why?

• They’re cheap to buy. At Pro’s Ranch anyways. Or, you have them all over your backyard.
• They’re multi-purpose (see HERE for all the many uses)
• I can use them to make Banana Bread (you bet!)
• I can clean the grill with them……
• I can use them to make Guaca Guaca in place of a lime
• And most notably? I can make lemonade with them. YUM-O.

Ok, so lets chat about this. How do you clean your microwave with them? Easy:

1. Cut the lemon in half
2. Get a bowl out of the cupboard, and fill it with a 1/2 inch of water.
3. Put the lemons in the bowl, with the cut side down
4. Zap the microwave on high for 2 min (or until you see steamy water on the walls)
5. Take the bowl and lemons out very carefully, don’t burn yourself!
6. Put on an oven mitt, now take the lemon in your hand and scrub-a-dubb-dubb your microwave walls, ceiling and whatnot.
7. Toss the lemons in the trash
8. Now wipe the surfaces down with your sponge/rag
9. Let the microwave dry with the door open for a while, then put your tray back in and shut the microwave door.

Should you choose to use lemon juice, you can do the same steps as above, just fill the bowl with 1/4 1:3 parts lemon juice & water – enough to soak a sponge. Zap it for 2 minutes, then dip your sponge into the lemony liquid and scrub-a-dubb-dubb for a while….. continue as noted in step number 9 above.