Help me think of summer meals that both dd & I will eat?

[Ameena]

Hoping the HIVE has better ideas than mine - which is to just plan for & buy a bunch of stoffers family size dinners & alternate them with Hot Dogs & pizza lol. We don't have a/c, and it's heating up to the point that I hate to cook, so we eat junk food or canned stuff, or nothing for dinner. I know it's only going to get worse until late September, so am trying to prep now for it. I am praying for a cool summer, but cool is relative here in South TX - if it stays under 100 in summer it's "cool" lol.

 

My requirements:

 

~Can't take more than 20-25 minutes in the oven / on the stove {and preferably heated in the microwave would be best, especially in the hottest part of summer}. I don't mind something I can maybe pre-make now before it gets to scorcher status in a month or so, and freeze until ready to heat & eat. I don't have a grill, but may try to get one. I do have a crockpot.

 

~Quick fix is especially nice. We will be gone most days during the summer from around noon-ish until anywhere from 5pm to 7pm, going places to escape the heat. When we get home, we will be tired, hot & hungry. I would prefer to NOT leave a crockpot going while we are gone - just a thing with me as I would be worried the whole time about a fire.

 

~no salads, raw veggies with dip, or cold soups. Tried all of that last summer, and neither dd nor I care for them. Fruit alone is lovely, but not enough to keep us going for long.

 

~We are a meat, potatoes & veggie family who likes hearty meals. To give you some ideas, we like the Stouffers Grandma's Chicken & Rice Bake, their Chicken Alfredo, and dd likes the Chicken with rice & Broccoli bake {but I am not crazy about the sauce in that one}. A typical from scratch meal in my house is pot roast with potatoes & carrots or chicken with rice, gravy & veggies.

 

~No pork or alcohol due to religious requirements.

 

I have considered flipping our meals, and doing the big meal / dinner in the morning when it's cool. Breakfast items tend to be mostly "cool" items, so that might work if I can get of the mental wrongness feeling of sitting down to breakfast but eating dinner lol.

[pink&bluemommy]

You just need to start loving your crockpot!  I love melskitchencafe.com.  The white creamy chili and jalepeno popper chili are particularly spectacular.  But everything from her is great!  Sweet balsamic pork loin is good too and another crockpot meal.  Here is her slow cooker section:  http://www.melskitchencafe.com/recipe-index/slow-cookers/

[pink&bluemommy]

OK, nevermind about the pork!

[littlebug42]

One of our favorite things to do is to pick up a rotisserie chicken from Sam's/grocery store and a pack of hawaiian rolls.  My daughter's like to make little sandwiches.  

 

I also use my crock pot to make chicken broth or beef broth overnight.  I turn it on before I go to bed and then by morning, I have broth to make soup, etc.  We also eat a lot of sandwiches in the summer.  I do use my crock pot a lot as well but those items I put on in the morning and leave until we get home.  

[gingersmom]

Let your crockpot run at night while you are sleeping.

 

Prep a weeks worth of salads and toppings and leave in fridge.

[J-rap]

In the summer, we love bean burritos and tuna pasta salad (not at the same time).  Tuna pasta salad recipe:  1 box pasta shells cooked, 1 can tuna, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup cubed cheddar cheese, mayo and salt and pepper to flavor.  Also, here's an easy slow cooker recipe:  1 bottle bbq sauce, 1 cup coke (I'm not sure why), one sliced lemon, and up to 3 lbs. chicken pieces (I think breasts and thighs are best).  Cook all day and serve over rice.

[73349]

Grilled cheese is quick in a waffle iron or frying pan. I like to add some sliced turkey and tomato. Even a chilled can of peaches is a nice side.

 

If you haven't liked salads... with gentleness and respect, I must ask: Are you sure you made them right?? Even my 6YO will eat a salad with chopped baby spinach, quartered cucumber slices, carrot coins, halved grape tomatoes, with some walnuts, dried cranberries, shredded cheese, maybe a sliced sauteed chicken breast. (You could also top it with a cut-up hard-boiled egg, if you like them.) Offer dressing on the side, but if you're able to get good produce, it shouldn't really be necessary. Don't chop up a head of iceberg lettuce and a slicing tomato and consider that salad, because those are crummy.

 

A stir-fry is quick if you pre-cut the veggies. We like broccoli, mushrooms, carrot matchsticks, chicken breast or thigh slices, and a little bit of canned pineapple and a few peanuts. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic if you like them. Cook in a small amount of peanut or coconut oil, or some toasted sesame oil. I like a little Soy Vay teriyaki sauce in it. I serve it over rice, which takes very little heat.

[Tammi K]

Just found this site yesterday:  http://crackslaw.com/     It has lots of quick, easy ideas for simple, one pan meals.

[Kebo]

You might look into a thermal cooker. It's like a crockpot, except you only heat it to boiling initially, then the heat is retained without electricity to finish the cooking. I don't have one (yet), but the reviews are good. Then you could add chills, stews, soups, etc. to the rotation. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZV95C/ref=pd_luc_sbs_02_02_t_lh?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Also, here's one of our favorite quick and easy recipes. It's very good, and doesn't take much time (a bit on the stovetop, then 10-15 minutes in the oven). Add a veggie and some bread or mashed potatoes (Trader Joe's has some good ones that you just microwave from the freezer), and you are set. Don't be put off by the name, it's just pork tenderloin. We don't even make the gravy most of the time, so it's very easy.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Varkenshaas-13259

[Ameena]

Grilled cheese is quick in a waffle iron or frying pan. I like to add some sliced turkey and tomato. Even a chilled can of peaches is a nice side.

 

If you haven't liked salads... with gentleness and respect, I must ask: Are you sure you made them right?? Even my 6YO will eat a salad with chopped baby spinach, quartered cucumber slices, carrot coins, halved grape tomatoes, with some walnuts, dried cranberries, shredded cheese, maybe a sliced sauteed chicken breast. (You could also top it with a cut-up hard-boiled egg, if you like them.) Offer dressing on the side, but if you're able to get good produce, it shouldn't really be necessary. Don't chop up a head of iceberg lettuce and a slicing tomato and consider that salad, because those are crummy.

 

A stir-fry is quick if you pre-cut the veggies. We like broccoli, mushrooms, carrot matchsticks, chicken breast or thigh slices, and a little bit of canned pineapple and a few peanuts. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic if you like them. Cook in a small amount of peanut or coconut oil, or some toasted sesame oil. I like a little Soy Vay teriyaki sauce in it. I serve it over rice, which takes very little heat.

 

Thanks for mentioning grilled cheese - that reminded me that we have lots of grated cheese in the fridge, and tortillas in the freezer. Since we have a quesadilla maker, that is pretty quick. I am always at a loss for what to serve with them though.

Yep, I'm sure. I've tried numerous salads over the last 15 years including ones from places where folks rave about how good the salads are, and dd has tried lots over the last 6 years {I tried to get her to eat salad even if I didn't care for it}. Neither one of us can stand the texture of greens or the flavor. Doesn't matter what the green is- I've tried baby spinach, butter lettuce, etc - we just don't like any of it. Ditto texture-wise with raw veggies. Or raw tomatoes in anything but salsa that is pretty smooth. DD will quite happily eat thin cuke slices though, but only cold & with salt {blame my mom who taught it to her}. She doesn't eat more than a few though, and I am looking for something more substantial for a meal.

 

I may have to consider stir-fry. We don't have a pan right now that would work for doing it though since our wok accidentally got left behind in our last move... might have to watch for one.

[applethyme]

Use your crockpot overnight to cook meals.

 

Some of my favorites:

cut up onions and green peppers top with boneless skinless chicken breasts and sprinkle with fajita seasoning.(I use about 1/2 a package).  Do not add water.  cook til done. Shred the chicken and serve either as sandwiches or in tortillas. 

 

Pot roast with all the veggies.  Dump it in and press start.

 

pour your favorite marinara sauce in crockpot and add boneless skinless chicken breasts cook unit done.  I serve or spaghetti or rice. 

 

Often times on cooler days I would cook double of something we like such as a casserole or meat loaf and freeze one to microwave later.  It works well for us.

 

[Sasharowan]

Have you tried pasta salad? We like the tri color rotini noodles, cooked and cooled. Then we add ham, pepperoni, shredded cheese, cucumbers, carrots, whatever. top it off with a dressing, Marie's Creamy Italian is our favorite. I like it because it is so versatile, anything can go in it.

[PeachyDoodle]

This is one of our new favorite hot-weather recipes:

 

Asian Ramen Salad: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/ridiculously-amazing-asian-ramen-salad/#.UxvMNaq9KSO

 

It uses cole slaw mix (just the cabbage/carrots -- you make an oil/vinegar dressing) instead of lettuce, so it keeps great in the fridge without getting soggy, and it's so refreshing. We actually cook the noodles first (dh misread the recipe the first time around!) with the seasoning packets, but you could just add them when you're ready to eat, although cooking ramen literally takes 3 minutes. And I throw in a couple of cans of mandarin oranges (drained). We're a very meat-and-potatoes kind of family too, but with the nuts and seeds, we eat this as a meal. Chicken or shrimp would be yummy in it too.

 

And may I add: Bless your heart, living in TX with no a/c, you poor thing!! :grouphug:

[abba12]

Regarding the salads, have you tried something without leaves? Salads don't need leaves :) One of our favourites is a variation of blanced snow peas/brocolini, orange segments, avocado, cherry tomato, capsicum, snow pea sprouts, etc.

 

Regarding food though, there's a couple of options. Firstly, mexican! Burritos take 20 minutes on the stove for the meat, 30 seconds in the microwave for the tortillas, a few microwave minutes for refried beans, and then it's just whatever toppings you like, cheese, tomato, sour cream, cucumber, etc. You could make a huge batch of meat, divide it into bags and freeze 10 meals worth of meat filling for not too much. Fajitas are similar, about 10 minutes on a hot stove, microwave the bread and serve.

 

Stir fry is worth looking into.

 

Can you make some staple meat and starch meals like spaghetti bologneise and chilli, add extra veg (I put capsicum, onion and carrot in my spag bol, and I add lots of beans, some corn, some capsicum and some fresh tomato to my chilli) and freeze those. Then you just have to cook pasta/rice to go with it.

 

Have you thought about one of those three tier steamers? They don't create too much heat, you can throw whatever veg and meat in there and just let it go. We love ours in the summer.

 

Or try thinking of meals as a two part mix and match.

Starch and Veg - Fried Rice, Stuffed Sweet Potato, Apple and onion rice (or other 'quick risotto' style rice recipie). Baked potato with roasted or grilled brocolli. 'roast salad' (broccoli, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, red onion, garlic, etc in a tray with some oil for about 30 minutes).

Meat - Grilled/Steamed chicken or fish with a basic sauce/marinade. These days there's so much variety available you could have a different flavour every night for a month!

[TammyinTN]

I usually like cook once, eat twice meals.   We grilled 4 chicken breast--2 with taco season and 2 with Italian.  

 

First night is Ree's Taco salad--it's delicious and you will not be disappointed.  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/07/chicken-taco-salad/

 

Second meal, slice the Italian chicken and add to alfredo sauce for chicken alfredo pasta...you get the protein with the carbs and it keeps you full longer.  

 

I agree ... I would have died without AC in TX.

[Liz CA]

Take your cast iron pan (if you don't have one, get thee to Walmart where you can buy a Lodge for under $20), then  chop up a large amount of your favorite veggies and store in fridge in either glass containers or some other suitable container. Cook large amount of rice (enough to last a few dinners). Store also in fridge. Pour olive oil into cast iron pan (not too much) and stir fry enough veggies for a meal for the two of you. When the veggies are almost done, add the precooked rice and a little tamari sauce. Happy Times!

If it is extremely hot, serve cut up fruit with honey drizzled over it and whip cream. When you run out of steam, serve more fruit with whip cream and honey! :)  :)  :)

 

Oh, and if you want to add meat, precook chicken once a week or beef. Fish can also be cooked in the pan prior to adding the veggies.Or quickly cook the chicken in the cast iron pan just enough so you can add the veggies and last the rice since it only needs to be warmed up if it's already cooked.

 

For a variety in flavor, try different things like tamari sauce, yogurt, masala sauce, etc.

The whole thing (without cooking meat from scratch) should not take longer than 20 min.

[magnificent_baby]

Our favorite summer meal is BLT's. You could sub turkey bacon, in place of the bacon. Cheap, quick and so good with local tomatoes. You might even be able to find microwavable turkey bacon. 

[KungFuPanda]

Grill everything! That way one person can have a burger, 2 people chicken and veggies in a grill basket. Toss some rice in a rice cooker and you win.

[idnib]

Have you seen the Birdseye Steam Fresh stuff? They are bags that steam in the microwave. They've got veggies, rices mixes, etc. I haven't tried them though.

 

We often eat tomato soup with popcorn if I don't feel like cooking. You can just buy a bag of pre-popped popcorn if you don't want to pop it in the heat.

 

I serve guacamole with my quesadillas. It makes them more filling. Throw some shredded rotisserie chicken in the quesadillas.

 

Shrimp can be stir-fried in 2-3 minutes. 

 

Smoothies for dinner?

 

Bagels with cream cheese and other fixings.

 

 

 

 

[medawyn]

Pesto pasta salad (I make pesto in large batches and freeze - or buy ready made from the store) - I add peas and shredded chicken (again, I poach a bunch and stick it in the freezer for later - or buy rotisserie), diced cherry tomatoes if you like.  I make enough for 2-3 days, but we don't mind eating the same thing for a meal or two.

 

I know you said no raw tomatoes, but this is pretty fantastic if you can... 

- halve/quarter cherry tomatoes (1 pint), mince 2 cloves of garlic, chop or tear as much basil as you like, and tear 8 oz of brie into bite size pieces.  Marinate in ~ 1/4-1/2 c. of olive oil for as long as you can (I do this in the morning and leave it on the counter under saran wrap all day.  Toss with 1 lb of your favorite pasta.  Amazing!  Leftovers are great.

 

Use your crockpot on a day your are going to be home and cook some chicken breasts in either bbq sauce or salsa.  Shred and freeze in 1 cup portions.  Perfect for sandwiches, quesadillas, burritos or whatever quick.  Also great served over a (microwaved) bake potato.

[Chris in VA]

I lived in Dallas and totally understand the heat! It's incredible, isn't it? I couldn't do laundry (dryer) some days because if I did it in the am, it'd heat the house for the day, and if I did it at night, we couldn't sleep!

 

Just a suggestion--If thinking of the crockpot plugged in gives you anxiety, maybe just reframing will help. I think of all the appliances I leave plugged in, like the toaster, or the coffee maker--and I lump in the crock pot with them. It's such low heat that I don't even think of it as "on," really. It doesn't have a contact surface that's open, like an iron, and it isn't red-hot like a toaster!

 

But using it at night is a good idea. Doesn't give off heat.

 

I would DEFINITELY get a grill--can you get a cheap gas grill? I have seen them for less than $100 at Walmart. It will change your life! You can grill such wonderful foods on it--skewer veggies and baste with Italian dressing; do chicken satay; grill fruit, even!!

 

AFA stir fry, I just use my frying pan--no wok needed, imo.

 

You may be used to a lot of salt and MSG in your meals if you like Stouffer's, so whole foods cooking may seem bland. Don't be afraid to spice it up!

[Laura Corin]

Couscous is good - you just need to pour boiling water onto it.  You could make a warm salad with cheese/chicken breast cubes and whatever lightly-steamed veg you like, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

 

L

[Heatherwith4]

On really hot days, when it's almost too hot to eat, you could do smoothies of some sort. There are a ton of different recipes online.

[Wabi Sabi]

We do lots of antipasto for dinner: arrange a platter of good sardines or salami, olives, a wedge of Brie, fresh mozzarella or a log of goat cheese, crusty bread, marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts or red peppers, fresh fruit, etc. 

 

[KungFuPanda]

We do lots of antipasto for dinner: arrange a platter of good sardines or salami, olives, a wedge of Brie, fresh mozzarella or a log of goat cheese, crusty bread, marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts or red peppers, fresh fruit, etc.

 

 

DH and I love doing this, but the kids always complain. We just call it a cheese platter, but I like to do smoked salmon or oysters, crackers, salami, a few cheeses, a whole-grain mustard, and some fruit. Sometimes I do a baguette instead of crackers.

[littlebug42]

When my daughter was younger, I used to keep all finger type foods for her in the refrigerator for her meals: ham, cheese cubes, carrots, anything cold that she could eat.  Maybe you could come up with some things like this that you could eat depending on your tastes. 

[KatieJ]

We live in Michigan, but when it gets hot, we cut back on our eating naturally.  Salad is a good choice for us. 

I know you said you don't like greens, but what about Tuna, Salmon or Egg salad stuffed in a tomato or Avocado.

 

Mine are simple.  Canned salmon, onion, celery and mayo. Mix and serve with tomato on salad greens, or just with the tomato.  Roll or piece of toast if hubby is still hungry.

Or just eat with tortilla chips, crackers, etc.

 

I would cook up chicken breasts in the crockpot over night and use the shredded meat for tacos or something tex mex. In your case I would quite a bit at one time and freeze in meal portions.

 

Fry up some burger(On those cool days) and freeze in meal size portions for quick sloppy joes, tacos, or make a quick gravy(White sauce kind of gravy)  and serve over rice.  Rice can be cooked in batches and frozen in portions.

 

Fruit is great as a side for any kind of sandwich ( BLT using precooked bacon), sloppy joes, etc. 

 

I am thinking maybe some new equipment might be in order for your kitchen.

 

Toaster ovens are amazing pieces of equipment.  I use mine pretty exclusively now that there is just two of us, but it is my main oven in the summer.  I have a 3 season porch and attached garage and I have been known to move my toaster oven out there when it was warm.

 

Nesco roasters are kind of like a crockpot, and they work great in that same porch in the heat of the summer.

 

I recently bought a Ninja cooking system.  It's a crock pot and a roaster all in one.  I can brown the chicken or burger in the pot and then set it on crockpot.

It comes with a pretty large recipe book.  You can cook rice and salmon at the same time.

 

[Excelsior! Academy]

Do you do beans?  I used to have a recipe that included black beans, shoepeg corn, and tomatoes with chilies.  I can't remember the whole recipe, but you could google some variation.  Top with sour cream and serve on tortillas or with chips.  I used to heat it on the stove until warm.  It literally took minutes.

 

Hummus is another good one.  Store bought is pricey.  Homemade can be made easily.  Just cook the beans overnight and put in the fridge.  It takes seconds to mix when you are ready to serve.  Eat it on pita, with vegetable sticks or as a sandwich spread.

 

Taco bowls or bean and cheese burritos are easy meals.  You can use canned if you don't want to heat the house.

[SFossum]

Invest in a Rockcrok or a Deep Covered Baker from The Pampered Chef.  You can make meals in 30 min or less in the microwave. 

[vonfirmath]

Thanks for mentioning grilled cheese - that reminded me that we have lots of grated cheese in the fridge, and tortillas in the freezer. Since we have a quesadilla maker, that is pretty quick. I am always at a loss for what to serve with them though.

Yep, I'm sure. I've tried numerous salads over the last 15 years including ones from places where folks rave about how good the salads are, and dd has tried lots over the last 6 years {I tried to get her to eat salad even if I didn't care for it}. Neither one of us can stand the texture of greens or the flavor. Doesn't matter what the green is- I've tried baby spinach, butter lettuce, etc - we just don't like any of it. Ditto texture-wise with raw veggies. Or raw tomatoes in anything but salsa that is pretty smooth. DD will quite happily eat thin cuke slices though, but only cold & with salt {blame my mom who taught it to her}. She doesn't eat more than a few though, and I am looking for something more substantial for a meal.

 

I may have to consider stir-fry. We don't have a pan right now that would work for doing it though since our wok accidentally got left behind in our last move... might have to watch for one.

 

You mentioned South TX and that reminds me. Do you have HEB?

 

We LOVE the HEB tortillas and my sister introduced me to a Microwave "snack" that we have turned into a meal.

 

Put grated cheese on the tortillas + a slice of meat (bologna is nice because it is round) Cover with another tortilla and microwave for 90 seconds until melted. Quick grilled meat and cheese.