Event Year: 2024
Event Location: Cocoa-FL
Competition: Solar Energy Cook-Off
Division: 6-8
School: Hidden Oaks Middle
Team Name: The Four Solar Cooker Girls
Project Name: Solar Cooker
Team Size: 4

Hidden Oaks Middle School

Group Members: Aria L., Annabelle G., Reagan M., and Sophia S. (All in sixth grade)

Where the idea of our solar cooker came from:

The idea of our solar cooker came from some photos we found online and some suggestions made by others. We also used diagrams we found online to give us ideas of what materials we needed. Our solar cooker design is a box cooker.

List of Help Received From Non-Team Members:

Home Depot Workers: Note to them – Thank you for all of the help towards finding our supplies to make our solar cooker a success!

• Barry
• Cory
• Gabriel
• Mondo

Family That Helped: Note to them – Thank you for all your love and support towards our project. You all have been more than helpful.

• Jeremy (Aria’s Dad)
• Jenna (Aria’s Mom)
• Cristina (Sophia’s Mom) 
• Julia (Annabelle’s Mom)
• George (Annabelle’s Dad)
• Colleen (Reagan’s Mom)

School Coach: Note to him – Mr. Howard, Thank you for helping and encouraging us to be more organized and committed.

• Mr. Howard

Solar Cooker Dimensions

 Parts Used

For our box cooker we used two large shallow cardboard boxes, two hinges, one door handle, aluminum foil, black T-shirt,1 piece of Plexi glass, Non-toxic black paint, wood glue, panel wood, black tape, and stock lumber.

Construction of Our Solar Cooker

Recipe

Carne Asada Tacos

Servings: 3

Calories: 344

2 pounds skirt steak trimmed of excess fat

Marinade

• 1 jalapeño seeded and minced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
• juice of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Toppings

• Flour tortilla
• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Tomatoes
• Diced onions
• Cheese
• Salsa
• Salsa verde
• Cilantro

Directions

1. In a large glass baking dish whisk together Carne Asada marinade ingredients (jalapeño through black pepper) until combined. Add skirt steak and cut them up into strips , turning to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 8 hours (longer will begin to break down the meat.
2. Let your solar oven sit in the sun for 30 minutes to an hour to preheat. Take your steak out of the fridge to thaw while your solar oven is pre-heating.
3. Next, put your steak in the solar cooker. Let it cook for 1 hour, checking it after half an hour to flip the strips over.
4. Once cooked all the way take it out of the cooker, add your toppings, and then serve. 
5. Enjoy!

Testing our Solar Cooker Design

Test Results 

Date: March 29, 2024   –    Sunny day, no clouds    –     Temperature 74^o F

Start time = 12:15 p.m.

Temperature 100^o F = baseline temperature

1st measurement -12:50 p.m. 150^o F

2nd- 1:40 p.m. 152^o F

3rd- 2:07 p.m. 210^o F

Date: April 2, 2024 –  partly cloudy – Temp: High 85^o F Low 68^o F

8:20 a.m. – Put solar oven outside in the sun

11:00 a.m. – Place meat in solar oven 

11:30 a.m. – Meat reached 140^o F

12:00 p.m. – 143.7^o F

12:30 p.m. – 152^o F

1:00 p.m. – 1 piece of meat reached 161.4^o F, the remaining pieces of meat reached 150^o F

Cloudy Day Recipes:

Nachos

Ingredients:

• Tortilla chips

• Cheddar cheese

• Optional toppings (ex. – lettuce shreds, tomatoes, onions, black olives, sour cream, salsa, guacamole)

Directions:

1. Spread tortilla evenly in pan.

2. Spread cheese on top of chips

3. Place solar cooker in direct sunlight.

4. Put pan of chips and cheese into solar cooker and close the lid tight.

5. Let chips cook for 30 minutes to an hour (or until cheese has melted).

6. Top with toppings of choice.

7. Enjoy!

English Muffin Pizzas & Salad–

Calories: 244 per serving

Servings:3

Ingredients:

English Muffin Pizzas:

• English Muffins
• Red Sauce 2 Tbsp. for each muffin half
• Mozzarella Cheese About 2 ounces for each muffin half

Salad:

• 12 ounces Romaine lettuce, chopped
• Caesar Dressing 
• 1 large avocado, sliced
•  Shaved Parmesan Cheese ⅓ cup 
• Chopped Fresh Chives

Toppings:

• Cilantro Just to top it off
• Extra Cheese However much your heart desires
• Optional Toppings- Pepperoni, Olives, Mushrooms, Pineapple, Sausage

Directions: 

1. First, set your solar cooker out to preheat. Then, cut the English Muffins in half, put the red sauce on it, and top it with cheese.
2. Next, put the English muffins into the solar cooker to cook, and about every 15 minutes check to see how melted the cheese has become. After you take the English muffin pizzas out of the cooker, check to make sure that they are cooked. Next, place them back in the solar oven to stay warm while you prepare the salad. Mix the romaine lettuce, avocado, and Caesar dressing together. Then, top it off with shaved parmesan cheese and fresh chives.
3. Last, once the salad is finished take the pizza out of the solar cooker and put the salad and the pizza on the plate. Then, add the cilantro and any additional toppings to the pizza.
4. Then, Serve and ENJOY!!