soliciting some help from YOU!! Please. {whine}
If you have followed me for a bit you know our background. My husband and I had been in camp ministry for years until just recently getting called into the pastorate. With said camp ministry, we would move our family to the campground and live there from the beginning of May to the beginning of September. Because of that we ate camp meals that were cooked for us. I was spoiled rotten. I never cooked. I never grocery shopped. Not all summer.
So....
Although I love to cook, I have a confession. (I think this confession will cause me the loss of some of my readership.)
I don't know how to cook in the summer!! I don't know what meals to make. As the thermometer has been reading 90 this week, my kitchen is warm, and I have no desire to heat up my oven for one of my normal recipes. What do I do?? What do I make?? Can you please {whine} share some of your favorite recipes with me? I would so appreciate it!
I like to use recipes with whole foods, no processed foods, little refined sugar and white flour, but honestly I am game for almost anything at this point because....
another confession here {blush}....
my family has eaten hot dogs twice this week.
And I don't even like hot dogs.
(Are we still friends?)
Subscribe in a reader
Addis Ababa Time
22 comments:
One of our summer favorites is good ol' bbq...brisket, beans & fried potatoes.
We grill a lot of stuff instead of cooking it inside.
On days when it is particularly hot, we do a lot of snacking instead of full blown meals. If my kids get too hot, they turn into grazers. I just put out a lot of fruits & veggies, beans, etc.
tiffany you are such a cutie!!!
but yuck to the hotdog situation:)))
i like to buy the jumbo (already cooked) shrimp in the frozen section of the grocery store. If you keep an eye out a lot of grocery stores run a buy one get one free special which makes it much more affordable.
saute the shrimp in fat free italian dressing in the frying pan for a few minutes or pop it on the grill. add corn on the cob and some brown rice and wha-la...dinner:):)
We're still bloggy friends. :) I'll be thinking of some recipes today and let you know later.
I know what you mean about it being hot and not wanting to fire up the oven!
haha...I feel your pain! But since I DON'T have a camp cooking for me, here are a few suggestions: SALADS! Chef Salad, Waldorf Salad, Taco Salad, and Pasta Salad (with chicken, turkey, ham, tuna or shrimp-a personal favorite!)...cool and refreshing and very little cooking involved. Also, grilled turkey and cheese with soup or salad, quesadillas, and philly cheese steaks.
Hope this helps!
I am best friends with my grill. It took me a while to get really comfortable grilling without the hubby, but I grill at least 4 nights a week now. Chicken, steak, burgers (or turkey burgers for a healthier option), shrimp, salmon...even veggies like squash, zuchinni, bell peppers, mushrooms and pineapple :-)
I also love buying hte pre-washed and wrapped potatoes and sweet potatoes that you just microwave for 8 minutes. Sooooo easy!
The best part, when I grill outside, there is LESS MESS in the kitchen! Less mess in the kitchen = more time with the family!
Good luck! You can totally do this...
Erin
summer salads!! Look them up online, but there are so many recipes. Chicken salad is my favorite, but then there are also chef salads (with hard boiled eggs, cheese, and ham/turkey) or salads with fruits (strawberries, raspberries).
Also, I personally think that using the stove for a short period of time doesn't heat up the kitchen as much as an oven. In that case, chicken, cheese, and veggie quesadillas are a quick go to meal for us. Also, spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and salad (i know, I know...not healthy!).
ahhh I just realized my suggestions are almost the same as Lisa's. Oops, sorry! But hooray for salads! : )
totally grilling or the george forman. There is a ton of marinate recipes that are great for getting more flavor out of grilling.
I also TRY to replicate my mom's potato salad. I make a big batch either in the early morning or late evening when it's not so hot.
We usually cute up veggies from the garden to have with everything. I also love using fresh herbs!! It makes everything more yummy
The crock pot is nice for doing bbq...you can just stick in a tenderloin to cook and then add bbq sauce before you serve it on buns.
Tortillas a great for wraps or tacos. Beans and rice are easy to do on the stove as well.
I completely understand your dilema...it took me awhile too.
We eat from the garden. Lots of salads! I also eat a lot more sandwiches too, no large meals. Fruits in season are great to snack on this time of year too. Try freezing some grapes and cherries and eat them strait from the freezer. They take on a whole new taste.
My cooking goes down the tubes in the summer as well. We end up grilling a lot... Or eating sandwiches. Anything to keep from making our house hotter than it already is.
Thank you for this post! I am SO raiding your comments ;)
We like fajitas, chicken or steak. Sometimes we just cut the pepper in half and cut large slices of onion and grill them... other times I slice them up and make a little tin foil pouch.
Num nums!
I am going to highly reccomend to you Bekki's blog, The little Red Hen, she may have the perfect solution for you... MASS cooking and you won't have to cook all summer after all!
http://littleredhen4.blogspot.com/
I shop the farmers market a ton for our meals during the summer. We love Mexican, Chinese stirfry in the wok, kabobs (chicken/pineapple/red onion/peppers with teryaki sauce) & couscous, I made a salad with grilled corn cut off the cob, edamame and fresh tomatoes with a red wine vinegar dressing a lot last summer. If you watch the sales marinated pork tenderloin is pretty reasonable and great on the grill too!
I'm not sure I can be much help!! I have the same problem!! Usually I end up making the house even hotter.. but last night we ate salad (with brocolli, cheese, chicken, carrots) and a fruit salad! It worked! :-) Maybe not the most fancy cuisine(sp).. but when it's SO hot!!! lol.. Thanks for posting this.. hopefully I'll get some ideas too!! :-)
I'm not sure I can be much help!! I have the same problem!! Usually I end up making the house even hotter.. but last night we ate salad (with brocolli, cheese, chicken, carrots) and a fruit salad! It worked! :-) Maybe not the most fancy cuisine(sp).. but when it's SO hot!!! lol.. Thanks for posting this.. hopefully I'll get some ideas too!! :-)
We grill just about everyday in the summer..chicken, steaks, burgers, veggies, even pizza.
Grill, grill, and grill some more! I adore grilled vegetables (zucchini, peppers, corn, onions, etc), meats, and potatoes (slice them thinly, drizzle with ranch, and wrap it in a bundle of foil). So much flavor and so little clean-up!
I've also found that sticking my crockpot on my porch doesn't heat up my kitchen one bit and still makes some pretty delicious meals!
wow you got lots of blog comment love! :) I really like trying to make up a bunch of meals all at once when I can so I can play with my kiddos in the afternoon or go swimming. Once A Month Cooking cookbooks are great - I got them at Sams.
I am a fan of tacos and this is my favorite homemade taco seasoning (without the preservatives, etc.) It can also be modified for fajitas too. Yum. Loving all the comments, I am going to have to try them and check out the other links mentioned. Here is my link for the tacos:
http://lovinglifeslittlemoments.blogspot.com/
I have a cookbook recommendation. It includes not only recipes, but whole meal plans, shopping lists, and loads of great ideas for how to manage summer cooking and family togetherness. Check it out here:
http://www.cookingfortherushed.com/books/summer.htm
(It is a Canadian author and contains metric units, but a conversion chart will help you sort through that in no time!) Hope that helps!!!! I love it!
-crockpot cooking (no spending all sorts of time over a hot stove)
- easy recipes like pepperjack chicken, chicken/steak fajita burgers, quesadillas, poppyseed chicken, greek meatloaf...
- build your own panini bar with an indoor grill
- salads of all sorts (greens, chicken salad, pasta salad, potato salad)
- lots of fresh veggies steamed, grilled, whatever
i have tons of recipes on my blog that i make all year round...feel free to snoop :)
Grill! We love grilled veggies (toss them in some olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper)but you can grill TONS of things! Marinate meats in different dressings etc.
Also one of my kid's favorites - BLT's. I use whole wheat or grain bread and turkey bacon.
-Alida
Post a Comment