Good summer meals?

[klpmommy]

I am looking for meals that don't heat up the house, healthy, include protien & simple.

My "normal" summer meals include lots of variation on salad (taco salad, balsamic vinagrette tuna, grilled chicken on lettuce, etc), cold pastas & sandwiches. I am definately looking to expand my menus. Dh doesn't like most crockpot meals.

[Marsha]

subbing cuase I could REALLY use help. I was provided this link in another thread:

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/meal-planner/index.html?CMP=ILC-CD3148260517

[klpmommy]

bump

[Myrtle]

Grilling out is always good for not heating up the house. :yes And then dh does the main cooking, which is always nice. :heart

[Marsha]

For instance, I have chicken thighs w/out skin in the crockpot covered with bbq sauce for bbq chicken and I have cooked potatoes and eggs for potato salad. That's pretty much the extent of it LOL>

[naturallia]

I've been having lots of smoothies. :yes

Outdoor cooking is also key!

[jenny_islander]

Ours (we do have hot days here):

1. Crescent rolls, deli ham, best quality Cheddar cheese, mustard, pickles, Miracle Whip, tomatoes, relish. Make your own sandwiches and wash them down with lemonade.

2. Cold oven-fried chicken prepared the night before, corn on the cob done in the microwave so it doesn't heat the entire house, a big green salad, watermelon, Cokes.

3. On really hot days (days so hot that even a Lower 48er would feel it): Yogurt with jam stirred in, melon wedges, chilled oranges, lots to drink. Or say "to heck with it" and make ice cream shakes for dinner.

4. A paradoxically good hot-day meal: Boiling-hot ramen soup made with a handful of chopped fresh vegetables in the broth and an egg or two cooked on top of the noodles. This is even better if the soup has chilies in it. I have no idea why it's so nice on a hot day, but it is. Follow with an ice water.

5. Call sister-in-law and come up with an excuse for a family potluck party at her place. If there isn't potato salad, there will be deviled eggs. The only thing better than potato salad or deviled eggs on a hot day is potato salad or deviled eggs you didn't have to make!

[DoulaClara]

:giggle jenny_islander

We end up using the grill quite a bit, too. One huge "go-to" in the summer is making grilled sandwiches on the grill with halved lengthwise baugettes and whatever cheese, veggies, and meat (at least last summer we had meat!) are around! Gazpacho is also very good with this, depending on the ingredients.

Another one is grilled eggplant- I cut an eggplant in half (lengthwise) and scoop out the insides, leaving at least a half an inch of eggplant flesh in the purple skin. I chop the eggplant I removed and add that to a bowl with capers, tomatoes, mozzarella balls, herbs, and maybe some other veggies if I have them. I wrap them in foil :bag and grill them for about 15 minutes. I serve it with fettuccine (or whatever pasta I have, but we like fettuccine with this the best!) with olive oil and Parmesan. In fact, I bet you could do this with zucchini or other veggies, too!

You said your DH doesn't like most crock pot meals, but would he like ribs started in the crock pot? That's usually super fast- toss short ribs into the crock pot with barbecue sauce, and later when they're just about perfect, place them on the grill long enough to get some kind of grilled effect (5-ish minutes, so that sugar-based sauces don't burn!)

[WanderingJuniper]

We grill often. :yes

My husband also hates crockpot food. I don't even own one because of it.

We do a lot of kabobs. Marinated veggies grilled then tossed on a roll, crusty bread or wrap.

roasted pepper sandwiches with spring greens, pesto and feta is a fave too. We eat a lot of fruit deserts. Frozen fruit with milk or silk over it as ice cream.