Favorite dinners when it is HOT?

[loves to dive]

I’ve been cooking “Sunday night” dinners practically every night for dinner for over 40 years. I’m sick of it. Plus we’ve never had a dish washer so there’s all that too. My husband might occasionally grill something but I’m going to have to do everything else so I don’t usually feel like fixing myself something else. It’s just more work and clean up.

See you didn't train him right, you have start right when you get them. Kidding of course. Since hubby doesn't like anything healthy and I don't like fried food, we started very early in the relationship of him cooking. He used to cook for both of us but I just couldn't take the heavy fried food so we started cooking our own meals. He will cook for me if he's grilling outside. I was the wife that did all the cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids while working full time in my first marriage. Needless to say, that marriage didn't last long and my second time around I made it clear up front it wasn't happening. I work, you work, we split the chores. I do all the cleaning most of the time because, well he's a man and doesn't care if it's clean or not.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We grill a lot, and we have the type of grill that is an actual grill, not flame (so less char).

We grill meats and try to eat lots of fresh veggies (many from our garden) and fruits.

Here are some summery things we’ve made - forgive me, I enjoy taking food pics!

Turkey burgers w broccoli and cheddar



Corn on the cob (microwave)



Caprese salad - have this a lot, grow fresh basil in garden



Leftover chicken, bagged Asian slaw and fresh pineapple



BLTs on Scala toast and homemade potato salad (Mom’s recipe) and lettuce from garden (on leftover Papa Gino’s paper plates, lol - @HeatherC will appreciate)!





Homemade meatballs and sauce from garden tomatoes. (We freeze meatballs in batches so easy to heat.)



Ranch pasta salad with bacon crumble and cheddar cheese



Romaine salad with honey balsamic dressing and a little grated parmesan



Garden lettuce salad and tomatoes with leftover chicken, served with pita wedges. I will often throw blueberries or strawberries on, and maybe some cheese cubes (like Swiss or monterey jack).



It is challenging finding things that are healthy, that everyone likes and appreciates, and that don’t require a lot of prep and heat! Some meals are liked more than others, but that’s ok - my feeling is, if they don’t like it, they can feel free to make something else!!

 

[disykat]

I used to cook everything on the grill when it was hot. Where we live, that was maybe 10 days scattered through the summer. Now it tends to be hotter more so we bought a portable air conditioner for the kitchen/dining/family room area and we don't worry about it. Even using the oven isn't really an issue because we have a way to cool down if needed.

 

[barkley]

mostly grilled meats/veggies but we also do cold taco salad as an entree. 2 almost exclusively summer salads i do are minted watermelon feta (chunks of watermelon with fresh mint and feta on top), and salad caprese (i top with balsamic vinegar). with both i enjoy them during the summer b/c i grow the herbs fresh.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm doing Mexican chopped salad with shrimp tonight. Tomorrow is Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad.

Last night we finished up leftovers.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Tuna salad plate with tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and maybe corn on the cob.

Tonight we are having taco salad.

 

[nw6675]

Asian chicken wraps:

Spinach tortilla
Bagged Asian salad mix (like Taylor Farms)
Extra almonds or chopped peanuts
Grilled chicken
Sweet Vidalia onion dressing

 

[Kitty 34]

Favorite dinners when it's hot? Ones I don't have to cook!!

Sandwiches or if I know a few days before a heat wave is coming I might cook a casserole beforehand. Crock pot cooking is also helpful.

 

[RamblingMad]

It's interesting that a lot of folks grill. I tend to only do this when out camping. It's 103 right now, and the last thing I want to be doing is grilling outside. I'm guessing most folks have much cooler summers. Now, when it's cold out, I love some beef stew.

 

[Meriweather]

I grill on an indoor grill. It is too hot to go our to grill!!
Going to be 109 today and that is usual for this time of year

 

[Mle8308]

Anything I don't have to make!

 

[anniemae]

We are supporting our local sub shop. They make an amazing Italian cold cut sub with pickles, onions and tomato. I love to eat that when it is really hot outside.

 

[slo]

I cook the same all the time.
Live in Arizona so it is hot for around 5 months

Same for me
My weekly menu is based on our schedule, not the temperature.
I’m looking forward to reading the replies for some new dinner ideas

 

[ronandannette]

Ice cream bars - one in each hand. Some days are just like that...

 

[Walt's Dream]

Chilled Chardonnay...with perhaps a green or pasta salad.

 

[RamblingMad]

How about watermelon?

 

[clh2]

There are some great ideas here!!! We are starting a kitchen remodel next week, and well definitely be using some ideas from this thread!

One of our summer favorites is-Chef Salads. We pick up a couple of slices of Swiss cheese, ham, turkey and roast beef from the deli, bagged salads, and then pick up some goodies from the salad bar at our grocery store, a little bit of all the stuff we like! We each make our own!

 

[disykat]

It's interesting that a lot of folks grill. I tend to only do this when out camping. It's 103 right now, and the last thing I want to be doing is grilling outside. I'm guessing most folks have much cooler summers. Now, when it's cold out, I love some beef stew.

I think probably most of us who grill don't have air conditioning. (and you're right that's probably because we live in generally cooler climates where a lot of homes don't have central air.) We grill so we don't have to turn the oven or stove on because it's all about trying to keep the house cool.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

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[goofytinkerbell]

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