| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 12:47:09 AM
What do you feed your families when it's too hot to cook?
I was doing some meal planning tonight and so far have come up with:
Hummous on pitas
tortilla chips and salsa, with beans and cheese made in the microwave
grilled anything that will grill (have to use george forman because my big nice grill wont fit on our apartment porch!)
veggies n dip
tuna salad sandwiches
3 bean salad (canned beans)
plus I just ordered MJ's getting aquainted package, and some add hot water oatmeal for breakfasts, microwave to the rescue again!
Is there anything fantastic out there that I haven't thought of?
B.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 08 2006 : 05:51:57 AM
For lunch we had the afore mentioned wraps with sprouts, red peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, I did the mozz/tomato/basil sandwiches last night.. I served them with a side of fresh green beans and I also grilled up some portabello mushrooms marinaded in worshtershire (sp?) sauce. Did it on the good old George Forman (even though I don't think you can "knock the fat" out of a mushroom) It was a big hit.. but my litle troop liked it best when we went to grandmas where she has a 5 box supply of chocolate toffee Dilly bars from the Dairy queen!
I don't mind, thats what grandma's are for!
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| abbasgurl |
Posted - Jul 08 2006 : 12:15:33 AM
My very favorite summer recipe is sooo simple and so delicious! Thinly slice ripe red tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese and layer them in a circle on a plate. Top this with several torn fresh basil leaves-as much as you like. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, & top with toasted pine nuts. Salt & pepper to taste. You can add pasta to make this go further or serve it on a bed of spring greens. Yummy!
Thanks for all the great ideas ladies! They sound just wonderful!
Rhonda
...and I will sing at the top of my lungs, and I will dance, even if I'm the only one! |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 7:26:59 PM
Oh Karin! I have eaten those since I was little and love them!!
When I got married my hubbie looked at me like I was nuts...then he tried them...lol now he loves them!!! I also love pitas and love your idea for the blueberries!! It sounds so good a refreshing!! And I LOVE fruit salads!!
For those that like zwieback I forgot to mention applesauce with canned milk drizzled on top or canned peaches with canned milk too...yummie..Oh and really great ... my mother use to make what she called apricot puree made from fresh apricots like applesauce. We would eat that on the zweiback with a little canned milk too and yummie!!
Nancy Jo, you don't have to cook immatation or meat subtitutes, so for those that like them or use them it is a cook free meal! For those that don't ..yep ya have to cook  sorry!
Ali I like you idea of tortilla wraps! I will have to do that one day!
What a neat thread I am so enjoying reading what the rest of you do for meals when it is hot! Thank you all so much for sharing it is a treat!! 
Til Next Time...
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| ali2583 |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 3:22:43 PM
When it's too hot to cook, DH and I buy tortilla shells and make wraps with whatever fillings we have around the house, like cheese and sandwich meat and lettuce and veggies. Or we'll BBQ a chicken breast and make a wrap out of that.
I also love the cool salads (pasta, potato and coleslaw) I also found a great recipe for southwestern couscous salad, which was really summery and served cold. It was fantastic!
"God's gift to you is life. What you choose to do with that life is your gift to God" |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 1:31:55 PM
This is great! I went to the store without checking my messages, but only picked up one or two things because the kids were acting up, so now I am home and they are sleeping so I can make a list of these yummy ideas and use them to plan some nice stuff.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| cmandle |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 07:10:45 AM
Ooh Karin! We'll have to try that blueberries and milk trick. We just got an entire flat of blueberries from the CSA last week so our freezer is stocked with blueberries! My husband loves his milk (I can't stand the stuff!) so this will definitely be a treat for him. Thanks for the idea!
Catherine
p.s. But I love yogurt and cheese, go figure... :) |
| Mumof3 |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 07:04:14 AM
YUM!! Everything sounds really good!! One of our favorites is to freeze blueberries and then pour milk and a little sugar over them. The milk freezes almost instantly making a yummy fresh fruit "ice cream".
Fruit salad is big in our house as well as proscuitto with melon wedges, cucumber layered salad ( with red onions in vinegar and sugar), stuffed pita pockets with lots of veggies.
This does take a little cooking,but it is so good - Grilled Tomato-Basil sandwiches with mozzarella slices!! I layer cheese thinly on each slice of the bread then the tomatoes and then the basil in the middle. Use a sturdy bread because these can be heavy. But yummy!!
Buttercup- cream cheese and olive sandwiches are my favorite!! My grandmother used to make them for me! No one else in my family likes them at all. They don't know what they are missing!!
Karin
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| asnedecor |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 06:51:19 AM
cold pasta salad,chef salads,cold chicken, cold cuts with cheese, crackers and fruit, fruit salads,greek salad - did I mention salads 
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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| Hideaway Farmgirl |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 06:42:22 AM
I also believe in the cook once, eat twice formula - try cooking in bulk, using your oven in early morning hours to keep heat down later in day, cook large or multiple meals at same time and save leftovers for next day's meal in another form...or freeze for easy thaw and eat/reheat meals when it is too hot to cook. Catherine's idea of salad is great...throw lots of meat and veggies into or onto lettuce or spinach leaves, with a side of bread, crackers or potato chips/tortilla chips, it's a meal! You can also eat larger meals in the morning/noon and go light at dinnertime.
Jo |
| cmandle |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 06:34:07 AM
I don't know that it's particularly kid-friendly, but I just got this recipe from our CSA farm last week - it was so good!
Cucumber Fennel Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp chopped lemon basil
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
3-4 mini onions
1 greenhouse cucumber
1 bulb fennel
Vigorously mix lemon basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt until the oil is emulsified. Slice cucumbers, fennel and mini-onions very thinly. Toss with the vinaigrette and chill for one hour before serving over salad greens or leaf lettuce.
We pretty much eat tons of salad all summer long. I throw everything I can think of into the salads to keep it interesting: shredded carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, fennel, raisins, walnuts, croutons, feta or parmesan cheese...
Another easy thing is couscous. You have to cook it, but all that means is boiling water and olive oil. You turn off the stove when the couscous goes in and it just sets up covered in about 5 minutes. You can get boxes of flavored couscous mixes from the Co-op or grocery store, or just buy plain couscous in bulk and add your own flavors.
Happy cooking!
Catherine |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 04:29:29 AM
Good tips Buttercup, some I hadn't thought of. I love chicken salad, but of course you have to cook the chicken. I also like a club sandwich, Richard and I can share one of those with a side of fruit and chips and dessert. See it started off fairly healthy and then went to pieces. And if I am having a salad dinner, put everything I can find in it, this would be good with some of that toast you made,zwieback.
NANCY JO |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 06 2006 : 03:59:39 AM
Well it is often too hot to want to cook here!!! 
For me I love lots of sandwiches like egg salad, cream cheese and olive, cream cheese and pineapple, romain lettuce tomato and cheese, romain lettuce tomato avacado and sprouts, BBQ Tofu (but you need to make and chill for a day or two..like marinade it is really good), bananas and mayo, shredded imitation chicken with some mayo, to name a few.
Then there is all different types of fruit salads, pasta salads(some cooking), mexican layered salad (one of our favs no cooking), potatoe salad (some cooking), and more
We also love to make zwieback (we make it with regular bread toasted slowly in the oven overnight on about 200F and is hard and easy to digest and not heavy feeling) with cold or frozen fruit on top sweetened with apple juice concentrate and a little unsweetened canned milk or regular cream on top. My whole family including extended family love this(frozen boysenberries being the favorite). And of course canned fruit or fresh fruit with cottage cheese is great too.
And of course who can leave out Bryers vanilla icecream with fresh fruit all summer long!!!!!
There are some of my families favorite summer meals and foods! Here is to staying cool and enjoying refreshing food!! 
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
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