As hot as it is during these Summer months, I find myself groaning at the thought of making dinner and making my kitchen any warmer than it already is. Here is a few ideas to make meals while staying cool:
Use your microwave. I actually don't use ours, (I know! The horrors!) but your microwave doesn't really give off heat. (Keep it unplugged when not in use to keep it totally cool!) Take advantage of frozen vegetables that come in steamable bags, or purchase the Ziploc bags that you can steam fresh veggies, fish, and chicken in.
Use your crock pot! Your crock pot doesn't give off a ton of heat either when set to low. Make a double portion and re-heat the extras the following day for lunch or dinner in the microwave. You can easily freeze leftovers for dinners the following week as well!
Look for summer salad recipes on the internet. Many can be made cheaply with pasta or veggies. Cook any pasta early in the morning, or late at night when it's not so hot, then store for up to 2 or 3 days in your fridge for quick and easy side dishes!
Grill out! Let cheaper cuts of meats marinate overnight. Grill extra chicken that you can turn into chicken salad sandwiches or salads the following night - no re-heating needed!
Instead of using your oven, invest in a small toaster oven. We often make even pizza in ours. It doesn't give off as much heat as a regular oven, and the bonus is that it costs much less to use.
Even if you have air conditioning throughout your home, try to keep a fan circulating while cooking in your kitchen. It will help any warm air keep moving instead of hovering, and help stop your air conditioner from having to work harder!
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2 comments:
About a month ago I started pre-cooking 90 percent of our chicken in the crockpot.
As soon as I get home from the store, I wash and throw the chicken into the crockpot.
I set it on high for 2 hours and then I put everything away.
I shred, cube or sometimes leave the breast intact. Then I divide it into dinner size portions in Ziploc freezer bags.
Sometimes I toss barbeque sauce in (for the pizza DH loves me to make), or whatever marinade I have handy.
It's made my life so much easier! I get home and DH says I want such and such for dinner. I just pull the pre-cooked chicken out of the freezer, do a quick thaw and reheat.
I'm thinking of doing the same with ground beef, I'm hoping for the same results because not only is it saving me from a hot kitchen, but it's saving me the headache of rushing to fix meals every night.
We actually do much of the above. Sometimes, we have even moved the slow cooker outside. We probably keep the thermostat warmer than most, for cost reasons (like today, the temp hit 106, house was 85 during day. At sundown we lower it to 80 to cool for the evening).
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