It is topping 100 today in Upstate New York and as a result I have no motivation to eat, let alone cook. Any ideas for well-balanced dinners that won't overheat the kitchen and are relatively easy?
cobb and chef salads are my favs
tuna or chicken salad
cold pasta salad
an antipasta plate
Stay cool - we were just there 1-2 days ago
Cold cut sandwiches are great for hot days when you don't feel like cooking. In theory, you have all the food groups in each bite - meat, cheese, bread, and tomato!
i know that feeling - i just spread myself out - we're having sweet and sour pork and I just fried the pork and chopped the veggies....so now the kitchen is cleaned up and all i have to do is make the sauce and heat it.
I love doing slow cooker meals in the summer and grilling too...I know a lot of people think the slow cooker is for nice warm winter meals - but you can eat a great meal without steaming up the kitchen using a slow cooker...
Chicken and spinach salad is good.
BLTs are good....with chips (that's what I had for lunch)
Chicken Caesar salad is good too!!
A sping mix salad with tomatoes and Italian salad dressing, some pineapple chunks, Dave spelt bread with butter and my own recipe for tilapia which you flour the pieces and cook in frying pan in olive oil. Spices are salt pepper, a touch of chyeyanne, garlic, lemon pepper, onion powder and some liquid lemon spritzed on after turning once on med to med high heat depending how well your stove works. You,ll love it!! ENJOY! OH and myself I would have a glass of milk.
We were 103* here in MN a few days ago (but a lowly 53* today...I thought MY mood swings were bad...holy Mother Nature mood swings Batman!!).
We do alot of stopping at the local grocery store deli for cold salads and pre cooked chicken (and I can use the leftover chicken for sandwiches or something the next day). We do lettuce salads (add that leftover chicken to the top of a Caesar salad in a bag...easy peasy!). For my daycare kids we do alot of cheese and cracker and fruit plates (or fruit kebobs..makes it fun for them)...along with yogurt to dip. Good old sandwiches, meat and cheese and veggies or PB&J. Quick burgers on the grill outside...crock pot stuff if it doesn't heat the room up and make the AC run harder.
Good luck!
everything on the grill - zucchini sliced long way or tomato cut in half , sprayed with oil, sprinkled with garlic powder, salt, pepper and either rosemay, drill or basil - dip top in bread crumbs or not. Burgers (turkey or beef) or chicken cutlet (both are fast). Chickenkebobs - marinate cucken in just about anything (in a plastic bag in the fridge) then skewer and grill. Even fish on heavy duty foil. spray the foil first - whatever spices, maybe some lemon, soy sauce. Quick is the goal.
Of course, take-out is the ultimate meal that won't overheat the kitchen!!!
$5 Hot N Ready Pizza from Little Caesars. ;)
I feel your pain, we are in the 100s daily down here! My favorite hot weather foods are usually salad based. Chef salad, BBQ chicken salad, Greek salad, chicken salad, tuna salad in a tomato, pasta salad, cucumber salad, the list goes on and on. I know it may be a pain for your hubby (or you...I shouldn't be touching it!), but we grill all of the time. My husband gets warm, but it's nice to have the heat outside where it belongs and not indoors! :)
Cold pasta salads are always delicious on hot days!
Salads and bbq - so many combinations and no "cooking" indoors.
You could also just do a snack plate with cold cuts, cheeses, fruit and veggies and dips - just some chopping required. Add some rolls and you can have sandwiches too.
I've even seen pizza done on the bbq.
use your crockpot if you have one!
I like chili nachos. Nothing is cooked but a can or two of chili. Everything else is room temperature (nacho chips) or nice and cold and refreshing (lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, cheese, etc). Then, nice cold watermelon for dessert!
here in oklahoma we have alot of those days and even with ac my house heats up to much in the evening to cook inside, so we have alot of great sandwiches and salads with chicken or fish grilled out side.
my fav this week was griled salmon with leafy greens, dried cranberies, radishes, freash raw turnips, tomatoes, celery, and gorgonzola crumbles! SO GOOD!
Picnic foods.
You can put a chicken with BBQ sauce in a crock pot and place it outside and it won't heat up anything. Let it cool and have cold chicken or chicken sandwiches. Or beef or pork.
Watermelon, or canteloupe, or honey dew in the frig makes a nice cool refreshing dessert or meal addition.
Good luck to you and yours.
Check out related posts for even more ideas
How about a nice tossed salad full of finxings and some tuna for protein?
Yum - and healthy and cool.
Then have some ice ream for dessert!! :)
