What do you cook when it's too hot to turn the oven on?

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In the Kitchen

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There is heat advisory today supposed to be over 100 and haven't had any rain. Grass like straw and the poor birds are not even eating. What do you cook when it is so hot? I normally bake everything but want to fix something that will not have to be put into oven. Also does someone have good meatloaf recipe they are always fixing? They say will be only in 80's tomorrow, coolfront? I will be able to fix meatloaf tomorrow. Thanks
 
when it gets that hot out, i grill. keeps the heat out of the house, and i get to enjoy a few brewskis while i cook. i need to get a bigger baby pool tho.
 
I posted my favorate meatloaf recipe the other day. Here it is again. It's not necessarily low in fat, but when I'm wanting comfort food I usually don't care. I also saw a tip on Paula Deen's show the other day for meatloaf. I have a meatloaf pan so I haven't tried it, but she put 2 pieces of bread on the bottom before baking to absorb all of the grease.

Cheese Meatloaf
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup green pepper, minced
2 eggs
2 lbs. gound beef
2 T. horseradish sauce
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. mustard
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup catsup
16 or so slices of american cheese

Beat eggs slightly. Add beef and other ingredients except cheese.

Layer with cheese in loaf pan ending with meat on top and serving enough cheese to cover top layer. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Return until cheese melts. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

When it get's hot here, sometimes I will make a big salad with some already made chicken or I will make a huge fruit salad with dipping sauce, but a lot of the time, since I don't have a grill, I will tell the bf to go put on a tank top and sit by the air conditioner and pretend that he is at an expensive spa:) . He usually doesn't complain because he gets a pretty good meal. We just have to tough it out most of the time if we don't want salad everyday.
 
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Thanks

Appreciate all your responses. Sounds great buckytom, my kind of meal. But I would have to be the one fixing it and I can't drink while fixing meal. You should get bigger pool than you would really 'have it made'. You always know how to 'enjoy' the moment. The meatloaf will be prepared tomorrow. It is so strange that the whole family orders meatloaf when they go to restaurant. Think they are trying to tell me something? I think they just like to compare different ones. Always different. Can't go wrong with meatloaf and this one really sounds great. Thanks abj. How is your weather? I think I prefer winter.
 
The weather here is in the 80's ranny and muggy with a humidity level of at least 80-90. Yuck, it's suppose to be like that for the whole week.

I hope you enjoy the meatloaf if you try it. I have been eating that one since I was a kid. Sometimes I will add a little more green pepper or onion depending on my mood. The cheese I just layer several times so the cheese goes all the way through it. You can determine how much cheese you want in yours as you go along.
 
When it gets hot, I like to grill outside as well. The trick, is to cook enough food at one time, and just reheat it later. Grilled chicken is great for this, especially as a Caesar salad. Just reheat a chicken breast and make another Caesar the next day.

Have you tried making a Gazpacho? A cold soup is perfect for hot weather, especially if you have home-grown fresh tomatoes.
 
When it's that hot I like to fix cold dinners. One of my favorites is a seafood pasta salad.

Rotini pasta
chopped tomatoes
cucumbers
carrots
chopped artichoke hearts
chopped hearts of palm
steamed bay scallops
steamed small shrimp
poppyseed dressing (St. Martaan or something like that - round bottle)

Just mix everything together - wonderful.

If I want something with it (but this requires baking) I make my cheesy spoon bread.

Or I will make a gazpacho - requires my Kitchen Aid meat grinder only.

But grilling is a great way to go.

Or I will make bruschetta with feta - or with roasted red peppers and goat cheese - some fruit and cheese to go with it.

If you do a search for meatloaf there have been several threads about everyone's favorite recipe.
 
i make sandwiches (cold or grilled, like grilled cheeses), scrambled eggs w/ cream cheese and chives w/ toast, frozen stouffer's meals in the microwave, angelhair w/ pesto, anything that doesn't have to be on the stove for too long.

better yet, i wait for my Dad to grill or smoke some steaks or ribs or chickens outside.:-p
 
I use the grill, too. But I don't always actually "grill" what I am cooking.

By strategically placing quarry tile on the rods of my gas grill, it can be transformed into an oven. The challenge is in moderating the heat, which can be monitored with an oven thermometer. Other than a bit of scorching, everything to date has come out well.

My new grill has a side burner, so an entire meal can be made outdoors. The effort does involve a lot of beer though...:D

Tom
 
In this kind of weather, my husband doesn't even want to cook on the grill, so I use my crockpot and microwave a lot.
The crockpot is a big oval one, so I can get quite a lot in it, and also has a spare crock that is divided, so you can do meat on one side and veggies on the other (I haven't tried that yet).
When we were building our house, we went for 6 months without a stove. We had the microwave, grill, crockpot and electric skillet. I learned to do a lot in the nuke, and still use it a lot.

Buckytom, I ALWAYS enjoy a few brewskis while I cook! :cool:
 
When it is hot I make salads. Here are a few of my favorites. I also use the grill alot. Stir-fries are great because they are quick, easy, and light.



Spinach Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Farfalle


Salad:


1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 bunch green onions
1 ¾ oz. sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
1 lb. spinach, stalks trimmed and leaves shredded
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Dressing:


½ - ¾ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped chilies (Serrano or jalapeno)
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook pasta in a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again. Allow to cool and transfer to a large salad bowl. Trim the green onions and finely slice diagonally. Add to pasta with the sun-dried tomato, spinach, and pine nuts. To make dressing, combine the oil, chilies, garlic, salt, and pepper, in a small screw top jar and shake well. Pour the dressing over the top of salad. Toss well and serve. Serves 6.



Salami Pasta Salad



10 oz. gemelli pasta
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
½ cup green bell pepper, diced
3-4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups salami, sliced into thin strips
¼ cup basil, sliced thin

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. In large bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 6.
 
I either use the grill or I order out. Last night was too hot to cook and I was too tired to think about preparing dinner so we called in subs to the local pizza place. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea. Every person who came into the pizza place said the same exact thing. We are here because it is too hot to cook :) There must have been about 30 people in there waiting for their orders.
 
That is a bit far for me to travel for dinner from my home. I just went to our local town pizza place. I do love TC Landos though. They have some great pizzas!
 
I use the microwave or my indoor (plugin) health grill. YOu can make almost anything in the microwave - meatloaf (& have cold sammiches for a few days), roast (more sammiches & salad), salmon & a salad. I also make cold pasta salads. Sometimes I'll add shrimp or crab (tuna works too), Italian dressing, olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, mozzarella. (I have a shrimp antipasti recipe if any one is interested.)

Tuna or chicken salad with walnuts served in avacado halves with melon/honeydew on the side.

A quick dish in the skillet - crab or salmon cakes/croquettes (fruit & salad) - maybe zuchinni cakes. Pita pockets with cool cucumber dressing - or meatball, mozzarella, tom. sauce pitas. How 'bout a steak salad? Almost anything in a salad - strawberries, avacado, mandarin oranges, mushrooms (& vinaigrette).

The easiest - mix halved strawberries, sliced bananas & blueberries with sour cream. My grandma made this every summer. :)

Some jell-o shots in the freezer - they come out like sorbet.
 
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GB said:
That is a bit far for me to travel for dinner from my home. I just went to our local town pizza place. I do love TC Landos though. They have some great pizzas!

Sorry, GB, thought you lived in Maynard.

Have a great 4th with DW and the newbie.
 
No that is where my office is (in the old Digital building in the mill), but I have been working from home (Grafton) since the baby was born.

I hope you have a great 4th too :)
 
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