Its too HOT to cook. So, what do you do?

[LittleBlue22]

What meals do you make for your family when its too hot to use the stove top or oven? I'm finding myself avoiding the kitchen more and more since Mother Nature has turned up the heat.

Thanks for sharing your ideas :

I posted this over on the CB, but never thought about posting this over here on the Cooking forum.

 

[MazdaUK]

couscous - you only have to boil a kettle

 

[MazdaUK]

couscous - you only have to boil a kettle And use a George Foreman-type grill for the meat

 

[piratesmate]

Is grilling an option for you? We do that most nights when it's too hot for me to be in the kitchen. I buy chicken in family packs & then re-package in gallon-sized bags with marinade. We also do the usual hotdogs & hamburgers along with the occasional steak or shrimp. I do all the marinating in the morning when it's still cool. Then one day when I don't need to marinate (most things are done the day before so they sit longer to absorb more flavor) I'll make a batch of pasta salad to serve with whenever meat we have. We eat side salads for our veggies & then only take a minute to do.

That's pretty much it for us during a heat wave. The heat literally makes me ill, so we don't have much choice...everything is just a quick "in & out" of the kitchen.

We eat lighter in general during the warmer months. In addition to making extra grilled chicken to serve on salad as an entree the next night, we also have a couple other salad meals - like Boma's Durban Spicked Chicken Salad and a Taco Salad.

 

[Disney Ontario]

Hi. On Sunday at my parents my sister went out and bought already cooked mini meat balls and sauce. Then she threw them in a slowcooker for a few hours.Mmmm.

 

[frootie]

i love using the george foreman grill for chicken breast and then microwaving vegetables. stir fry is also good since you dont have to cook it for a long time.

 

[HunnyPots]

A question for those of you who say they don't cook when it's too hot: do you not have air conditioning?
Granted, I don't do meals like heavy soups or stews when it's hot but that's because I don't like to eat them during the summer. Other than that, I cook the same things as always. I keep my a/c set on 78 and run ceiling fans and don't really notice too much difference in the kitchen. Just curious...

 

[piratesmate]

A question for those of you who say they don't cook when it's too hot: do you not have air conditioning?
Granted, I don't do meals like heavy soups or stews when it's hot but that's because I don't like to eat them during the summer. Other than that, I cook the same things as always. I keep my a/c set on 78 and run ceiling fans and don't really notice too much difference in the kitchen. Just curious...

Don't I wish I had A/C!! We have a window unit in the living room & use fans to boost it to the dining room. (We ahve a double wide open doorway between the rooms. The kitchen doesn't get much, if any of that cool air. Not only that, but we live in an old, stone farmhouse that was divided at some point for 2 families. My kitchen is in the addition & is not insulated. And we don't have a self-cleaning oven so it really heats the room up.

You add all that together & my kitchen is generally 85+ on a hot day...before I start cooking!

 

[Zandy595]

If you don't want to do any cooking at all, how about an antipasta. I've never made one before, but have decided to put one together with grilled pizzas this week.
So far this is what I've thought of to put in it:

• Hard Salami
• Bocconcini (little fresh mozzarella balls)
• Marinated Artichoke Hearts
• Marinated Mushrooms
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Olives
• Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
• Pepperoncini Peppers (if DH is being nice, I don't like them)

 

[HunnyPots]

Don't I wish I had A/C!! We have a window unit in the living room & use fans to boost it to the dining room. (We ahve a double wide open doorway between the rooms. The kitchen doesn't get much, if any of that cool air. Not only that, but we live in an old, stone farmhouse that was divided at some point for 2 families. My kitchen is in the addition & is not insulated. And we don't have a self-cleaning oven so it really heats the room up.

You add all that together & my kitchen is generally 85+ on a hot day...before I start cooking!

WOW! OK, I agree then - no cooking! We'd be living on salad and popsicles!

 

[disneydeb]

mostly anything you can cook in a oven can be cooked in the crock pot, i have done turkey breasts, which will give you enough meat for sandwiches or to cube up and put over salads, my other favorite thing that i'll do more often, is a have a double tier steamer that i bought at k-mart, and i'll take boneless chicken breasts season them, put them in the bottom tier, and in the top tier i'll put new potatoes, baby carrots from the store that you dont have to peel, and some green beans in the top and let them steam for 45 minutes and their done! Another trick i'll do is most food is good cooked for 3 days in the fridge, so i'll pick one day and make 3 days worth of meals and reheat in the microwave. or if you just do your veggies that way you can cook your meat on the grill. veggies and mashed potatoes reheat nicely! hope this helps , heres sending you cool thoughts!

 

[disneydeb]

oh i forgot, you can also pick up a already cooked chicken if your store rotiserres them and make a salad, sandwichs and grinders are always good, and my kids favorite, watermelon and italian bread, cereal is not just for breakfast, and toaster waffles with fruit and whipped cream appeal to kids .if you have a microwave buy some very large potatoes and stuff them like they do at the fairs.

 

[Scambone]

We eat TONS of cereal. mom is always trying to cook something but its to icky outside to eat anything warm. It's a good thing we live in cereal city

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Crock Pots are great! Put in ground meat or pot roast w/ mexican seasoning packet and you have easy Tacos, Burritos etc. just by adding cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, taco shells or tortillas and sour cream

 

[pajules]

How about gazbacho soup (sp?) (spicy cold tomato soup)

This is one of my favorites.....

2 cans of condensed tomato soup
2 cans of water
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
2 tsp worshershire sauce
tabasco sauce, to taste (I like a few good shakes)
salt and pepper to taste

throw everything into a mixing bowl, pop into the fridge for a few hours and it's ready to serve. I like to add grilled shrimp to the top when I serve to add some protein to the meal....

This is very filling and gets better the next day...

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

we grill out a lot! That way we are cooking outside, eating outside all while the kids are playing outside

Salads are huge for us in the summer time and we often put together sandwich buffets with an array of salads and sides