When my hubby and I first moved into our current home, there was virtually nothing in the kitchen that we can use to cook food with. Nothing, except for our trusty little rice cooker pot which we used to cook a variety of fast-to-cook-good-to-eat meals. We have since christened it as our "miracle pot", so named because it is indeed miraculous how that pot coupled with a little imagination, helped us survive the days when we didn't have a fridge, a microwave and other kitchen conveniences we have now. Here's how we made full use of our miracle pot. Hope you like the tips!

Who says only rice goes into the rice cooker? Not ours for sure!

1. Pasta
Boil the pasta, drain it, set it aside and prepare the gravy. You can opt for a simple carbonara or bolognaise but don't forget to thoroughly cook any meat you throw in!

2. Instant noodle
Our favorite dish during cold nights when we didn't have much in the kitchen was instant noodles, curry flavor. :) We like cracking an egg into the pot just before the noodles get too soggy.

3. Bread
YES you can bake bread in a rice cooker pot! Inspired by my favorite Japanese manga called Yakitate Japan or Pantasia, a story about a talented young boy who can work wonders with his hands making, what else, but bread!

4. Chicken rice
Instead of putting water to boil the rice, you can add a dash of chicken stock. Add in chicken, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and other ingredients and you've got a hearty meal of chicken rice!

5. Scrambled egg surprise
We call it 'Scrambled Egg ala Surprise' because we don't know what we're going to throw inside the pot as the eggs cook. Most times it was minced meat but my favorites are crab meat, prawns and mushrooms.