Beat the Heat: Creative No-Cook Meals for Hot Days

[esavvymom]

Ok. It's just too dang hot to be cooking (or wanting to eat regular meals)!

I'd be perfectly happy with a bowl of fresh peaches and yogurt, or even cereal.

What are YOU serving your family (not shows) these days of scorching BLAH-ness? I cringe when DH asks "what do we want to do for dinner?".

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rha/lowres/rhan708l.jpg

 

[ChefBeckyD]

We've been doing a lot of salads, and also grilling.

Taco Salad, and Cool & Crunchy Chicken Taco Salad have been two favorites. Oh, and one day I cooked pasta early in the day and made a Pasta salad with tuna and peas. DH LOVED it! (I was surprised!)

We have a charcoal grill, so I do power cooking using the grill. Earlier this week, I did steak, hot dogs, chicken, peppers and onions, mixed veggies, and asparagus all while the coals were hot. Then, I just quickly heat, or use cold, the meats and veggies.

We've been eating pretty light too. You're right - it's so hot, we don't even feel like big meals.

 

[esavvymom]

i think my DH would strangle me if I suggested the grill. With temps over 100, and heat indices higher...we almost RUN outside to the car or to the mailbox. I was actually just thinking maybe I'd go in and see if I have the stuff to make either Jerk Nachos, or the Crunchy Taco Salad. It was funny though- I suggested the bowl of peaches idea to mykids for dinner and they applauded and said YES!!!.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

i think my DH would strangle me if I suggested the grill. With temps over 100, and heat indices higher...we almost RUN outside to the car or to the mailbox.

I was actually just thinking maybe I'd go in and see if I have the stuff to make either Jerk Nachos, or the Crunchy Taco Salad.

It was funny though- I suggested the bowl of peaches idea to mykids for dinner and they applauded and said YES!!!.

I do most of the grilling at our house. And I've been doing it early in the day before it gets too hot.

Peaches and yogurt sounds good to me though, or peaches and cottage cheese. :chef:

 

[carlajanes]

i do a lot of salads!
but today is okra and tomatoes, green beans, sauteed mushrooms and onions, smoked sausage with my homemade bbq sauce....yum....
our temps have gotten more to the normal thank the Lord! but i say a prayer everyday for all of y'all still stuck in the oven!!!
~carla

 

[pchockeymom]

We went to IHOP at midnight for dinner last night. Tonight - don't know what the kids are having, hubby and I are having margaritas.

 

[cookinfletch]

Since I do the grilling here, I've been using the grill pan a lot!!

 

[lt1jane]

we had the heat last week, I made a bunch of pasta and then made several salads. Meals were solved for a few days. I even took some over to my neighbor as he loves the one salad. He was thrilled to not have to cook.

One night we did the grocery store rotisserie chicken because it was too hot to even think of grilling. That's how I made the chicken pasta salad, I used my leftovers and the carcass is in the freezer waiting for cold weather when I can make soup

 

[esavvymom]

DH ended up going to Walmart tonight to get a fishing net so we could rescue a baby blue jay that has been stuck up in our garage for 2 days ...we had tried everything to get him out. Anyway, he picked up some deli-made pizzas. Actually, they weren't bad!

I like the idea of cooking chicken for salads, etc. I may do that tomorrow.


(By the way, not sure if the bird will make it. We got it out without injuring it...although that wasn't an issue- since the darn thing had banged into the ceiling/walls enough already and was stressed from heat. I got a small dropper out of the cupboard and we put cool water on it's beak, plus set it in a bowl of shallow water for a bit. He seemed to perk up after awhile of doing that, so then we put it in the shaded area near the bushes. Now the rain has come and hopefully it makes it. We did our best.)