What is a good recipe for dinner on a hot day?!
What is a good recipe for dinner on a hot day?
I am a very picky eater. I don't like salads or sandwhiches. I like whole hearty meals. My In-law's love anything but I don't want to serve up some lasagna on a 90 degree day. We all agree on any kind of mexican dish. Italian is good and so is Chinese. Is there any kind of meal that can be prepared and not be so "heavy". Any suggestions?
Answers:
a fruit salad grilled chic breast gill veggies over a bed of cold lemon pasta.......
Generally the trick to cooking on hot days is not to heat up your house (even if you have CAC). So grilling or other cooking methods that don't require the oven are often used.
cold noodle salad
2 cup soba noodles or any kind of noodles you like, cooked, drained and chilled
2-3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
2 tomatoes, cubed
1 can white tuna in olive oil, drained
1 tin chick peas (garbanzos), drained
1 tin string beans drained
2 salad (small) cucumbers, cubed
1 large avocado, cubed
1 bunch asparagus, cooked, sliced and chilled
dressing:
3 TBS peanut butter
4-5 TBS light soy sauce
1 TSP rice vinegar
1 TSP sugar
1/2 TSP salt
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp finely choped ginger
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
whisk together well till creamy, serve salad ice cold with white wine.
Sloppy-Joes
? 1 lb ground beef
? 1 large onion, finely chopped
? 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
? 5 tomatoes, diced
? 2 Tbls all-purpose flour
? 1/2 cup water
? 1/4 cup cider vinegar
? 1/4 cup chili sauce (Heinz)
? 1/4 cup ketchup
? 8 whole-wheat hamburger buns (toasted)
Crumble beef into a large nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat until it starts to sizzle, about 1 minute. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are soft and the moisture has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Add tomatoes and flour; stir to combine. Stir in water, vinegar, chili sauce and ketchup and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and the onion is very tender, 8-10 minutes. Serve warm on buns.
grillied chicken over rice
how about a pasta salad and some grilled chicken
grilled chicken breasts with a cold salad (Snicker salad, fruit salad, tuna salad, potato salad, extra), and an ice cream sunday for dessert.
On a hot day I love cold fried chicken (make it in the am before it gets hot), potato salad and a salad of fresh tomatoes and basil.
You can gt the taco kits from the grocery store and make up taco's. The only thing you would have to do is cook the chop meat and the seasonings. Have every thing you would like to add to your tacos laid out in separate dishes that way everyone can make them to their preference. Top it off with some summer fruits or ice cream sundaes that they can build themselves.
using your grill or grill pan is a great way to prepare a great meal in hot weather. you can grill your entree (chicken breasts, cuts of steak, whole or fish fillets) side dishes ( asparagus, potatoes, corn on the cob) and desserts ( halved stone fruit (peaches, plums or pineapple spears) to serve with ice cream.
spaghetti and meatballs
Margaritas and nacho chips with bean and guacamole dip.
salad with a nice pasta. . . not too hot but still light for those hot days. throw in some garlic bread for a little bit of warmth to the meal and a nice wine
curry....erm....or tomyam...(thailand recipe)...yummy...thinking of these food make me hungry..
or...
1)strawberry rhubarb calzone
2)fried chicken with ancho honey
Fix grilled chicken with an assortment of grilled veggies with a side of your favorite pasta (for an example: corkscrew) and serve for desert grilled fruit over ice cream.
Doncha hate it when you tell people you don't like salad and then they give you salad recipes. Then you say you don't want something heavy and they suggest pasta, and worse yet, pasta salads! Geesh!
OK, if what you want is light and cool and not salad and not heavy, your basically looking at seafood, shellfish and chicken as the entree, and a citrus (lemony) taste. Try this:
If you have an outdoor grill, fix up some salmon; lay the fillets on a cedar board and put the board on the grill. It'll start to char and give a nice flavor to the salmon, and, because it's solid, the fish won't break up and fall onto the coals. Yum. (By the way, you want UNTREATED cedar -no perservative chemicals.)
Separately, take some of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter; heat ot melt the butter in the oil in a saucepan. Now shake in some dill weed and a pinch of tarragon. Add 2 or 3 tblspns of lemon and/or lime juice. Toss in some capers if you've got 'em. Add a splash of white wine or dry vermouth. Add a bit of corn starch to thicken -but not TOO thick, we're not making thanksgiving gravy here. You can do this before your grill your salmon.
I haven't given you amounts, but just figure that for each serving of salmon, you'll want to have 3 or 4 tblspns of the sauce.
OK, now steam or microwave some broccoli florets that you have chopped up into 1/2 - 1" pieces. Make it so it still has a wee bit of crunch -not soft. Maybe 3 mins in the m/w. Shake on some finely shredded parmesan cheese (not the dry stuff from a can). Now mix white vinegar, olive oil and table sugar together in a bowl, enough to coat but not drench the broccoli. Use whatever ratio of vinegar and sugar gives you the right sweet-n-sour taste you want. Add some lemon or lime juice to taste. Dump it on the broccoli and cheese, toss it up and chill. There's your veggie.
Variation; add some Teriyaki sauce to the "dressing mix," or is you don't have any, use some soya sauce and a few tablespoons of sherry or marsala.
Finally, fix up some cous-cous, however you like it.
I've mentioned salmon,. but you could use shrimp or chicken or shrimp AND chicken -but forget the cedar board thing -just use your grill.
There you go.
Where's your place? I'm coming to dinner.