It's hot in the kitchen...

[Contrary Housewife]

But we still have to make dinner, right?

Here's (part of) my menu plan for the next two weeks. Temps here are predicted to be ~100. (10-15F above normal)

-chicken salad pita
-tuna salad
-egg salad
-chicken kebabs
-peanut ramen Recipe: Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles | The Kitchn
-quesadillas
-salmon cucumber sandwiches Salmon Cucumber Sandwich Recipes - Cold Sandwiches Recipes
-beet salad Roasted Beet Salad with Blue Cheese and Nuts - Martha Stewart Recipes (will prep the beets overnight)
-antipasto salad (got pickles and olives to use up)
-thai lettuce rolls Recipe: Vegetable & Mint Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce | The Kitchn (like this but with more lettuce)
-BLT's
-corn and bean salad Sweet Corn n Black Bean Salad | WholeFoodsMarket.com
-chickpea and cucumber salad Cucumber And Garbanzo Bean Salad Recipe - Food.com - 28556

I'll be adding burgers, brats, hot dogs and grilled chicken from time to time.

What are your summertime "cooking" plans?

[sabrelvssammy]

salad....

You menu is so much better than mine - can we just come over there??? LOL

[lisaflex]

back on the grilled chix train aftr many yrs of despising it...made a fab recipe last night as it is hot hot hot here too...tooo hot to have the stove or oven on in my opinion...

yesterday we had tabouleh (sp???) yum w/ grilled chix brst tht were marinated in: plain yogurt, crshd garlic cloves, lots of pepper, honey and a bit of olive oil...they were first pounded a bit but super thin and then marinated all day and ten grilled for 4 mins first side and three the other. they were moist and delish!

pasta salad is okay as long as i boil the noodles inthe morning very early before it gets super hot
same goes for israeli couscous salad

lots of grillin herein the summer

[Brat]

I cooked on the grill all weekend and last night it was leftovers..Tonight it was spaghetti...(sp)...going to get large pork roast that is on sale in the morning and it will be pulled pork all weekend..

[frugalwarrior2]

B B Q GRILL. I would cook on the camp stove first before getting the house hotter

[Hamada]

Will be using the microwave and crockpot from now on. Once in a while the stove top. Most of what I am making is salad and a protein. Have three different types of granita's in the freezer plus some frozen fruit. Nice feeling to know I have some cool treats if I want them.

One thing good about the heat is that I do not feel like eating as much. lol

[judembc]

Oooh, didn't even think about my crockpots GREAT idea! I've just discovered McCormick grill mates I think they're called. We tried bourbon brown sugar on chicken breasts and it was good - YUM! I only buy boneless chicken breast and they were big & thick. I took the leftover chicken and made a huge salad. Threw in the cut up leftover chicken and DH and I ate it for lunch all week in salad. It was so good.

[Ali Lee]

When it's hot, this is what I do..
Make a gal of iced tea plus half of lemonade
Make jello with fruit
Clean a head of lettuce, clean veggies, have salad fixins available
I flavor a jar of applesauce
I'll use my crockpot. I'll fill it with chicken breasts & sprinkle a pkg of taco seasoning over it. Taco's, on top of salad, taco casserole, etc.
This week I made ham salad & also used LO chicken breasts in it.
I just make sure I have a lot of stuff ready. Which means I make a morning of "fixin". And I use my 50c toaster oven for Bisquick Impossible desserts & stuff like cheeseburger pie, etc.

[BlissMommy]

I try to use the crockpot, sub sandwiches, grill chicken and hot dogs. Things like that.

[Saule]

I've been eating out - we are living in a hotel as power was out for four days after a storm, a/c is iffy and it's over 100. If I were home, I'd be making cold soups with kefir or buttermilk - beet, herbal, etc. Also smoothies. Salads. Cold noodle dishes - Asian type. Sandwiches with coleslaw and potato salad. Nibbles of cheese and crackers and prosciutto. Weather supposed to break on Saturday, please God!!!

[Saule]

Just saw this - inspiration! Seasonal Topic of the Month: ICE COLD DELIGHTS Community Forums - p1 - Food.com

[elainebonanza]

Salad is the best food to have. When its hot i cannot resist myself from eating a whole ice cube.
Kitchen Faucets

[Ceashels]

We grilled off meat the other day and that will last us for the week. I do try to prep things at the same time if I need to put on the oven or stove. So I'll cook a box of pasta then make different pasta salads from it, I'll boil eggs at the same time so the kitchen only heats up once in a while. I've also left my mini Foreman grill on the counter so that gets used more often.

[renmerc446]

Huh. Didn't think about the Foreman grill. I used to use it a lot before I got bored cleaning it since I can't put it in the dishwasher.

I have frozen fruit in the freezer to pull out anytime. I do need to pick up some more fresh fruit for lunch for work. (Will do that tomorrow most likely when it's supposed to be cooler.) Other than that, it's usually toast or something light. Work lunches are usually hummus sandwiches, currently with fresh cukes from the garden and fresh fruit. Dinners are generally fruit and a little fresh made whipped cream.

[madhen]

I do a lot of smoothies. I juice up some veggies to get green juice, then use that as a base for my fruit smoothies. Get both my fruits and veggies in one serving, and I put the extra in a container in the freezer to eat as an "icee" later.