Summer Recipes?

[janedoe]

I'm trying not to use my AC all summer. Could you post your favorite summer recipes that don't involve turning on the oven?

[coppercleaner]

Summer for me is all about fresh salad and the fixins. Croutons, cheddar, parmesan, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, hard boiled eggs, home made blue cheese dressing. The bakery at our Wal-Mart sells their old bread at 50 cents a loaf. I have been making all the home made croutons my freezer can hold. Last year I tried a watermelon, fresh basil salad I got off of Pinterest that was great. Also, love a fresh corn salad with tomato, basil and herbs. Anything with avocado. Man, do I love summer eating.

[POPTOP]

Second the summer salads. I love tuna salads and chicken salads. If you really want no bake, you can get the canned chicken or bake early in the morning when it's cooler. Love potato salad, again cooking the potatoes early in the morning.

[Kain's Mommy]

BBQ everything lol. That's what I've been doing, I literally can't eat salads they gross me out, but I can grill some chicken or some kind of beef and be a happy camper

[smartrock]

Do you grill? We don't eat much rice, pasta or potatoes around here anyway, so I can make pretty much anything that needs to be cooked outside on the grill, as long as the weather cooperates. In fact, even under normal circumstances I rarely use my oven. I've seen many recipes for baking pizzas on the grill, although since that has carbs also, my husband won't eat it and, let's just say, I'm no short order cook, so I haven't tried it yet myself but I'd love to. I like to grill mains that work for more than one meal, since there are only 2 of us. plain steaks, plain grilled chicken, hamburgers, etc. don't need recipes.

Grilled vegetables are delicious- my favorite combination includes zucchini and onions although you can add things like red peppers, and asparagus, which is a tasty combination, or grill asparagus by itself. Get a grill basket with sides so things don't drop through the grates when you stir them around or turn them over. I just use some seasoned oil, salt and pepper, but other seasonings can obviously be used. You can eat them plain, with rice or mixed in pasta.

If you like chicken drumsticks OK, I marinate a large package (~12) drumsticks in a marinade made from 3/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup hot sauce (I use Frank's) and 3 tbsp cajun seasoning for 2-4 hours. Longer and the lemon juice can start making the texture of the chicken change. Grill over indirect heat until done. You'll have at least 2 meals worth for 2 of you, depends on how much you eat.

London broil? Thick top round is often labeled london broil, or you could use flank steak. Marinate up to 24 hours in 3/4 cup red wine, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, and I usually throw in some salt but the soy sauce might be salty enough for some people. Grill to a medium rare.

This recipe works pretty well for pork tenderloin, although even following the times, mine have been slightly too well done, or else my tenderloins are too scrawny. “7-6-5� Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Fresh corn on the cob, steamed or grilled, uh huh.

I could, and often do, grill nearly year-round.

[Labradorks]

Grill! Also, you can get those roasted chickens at the store. Whatever you don't eat that night, use for chicken salad. Do you have a garden? Grow tomatoes and basil, have caprise salads. Also, make pesto and have that on everything. Salads, obviously. I like cold soup with fresh cucumbers, mint, greek yogurt, etc. Gaspacho is awesome! I don't have a BBQ right now, so I will go to a local Whole Foods or similar, with a really nice deli, and splurge on cooked proteins such as the roasted chicken I already mentioned or cooked beef (I like cold beef like roasts, etc.). You can also buy cooked shrimp. Sometimes when it's hot I buy boneless smoked sardines (Trader Joes has yummy ones!) in olive oil and eat it on crackers with a side salad. Trader Joes has some other pre-cooked foods that you can microwave. My favorite lately is the stuffed peppers. They are really good and low in calories.

[Macy]

I like grilled chicken with Traders Joes peach salsa on it. Simple and tasty. Fajitas are another summer fave. I love making fresh pico de gallo. We grill a lot of veggies and fruit. Pineapple and peaches grilled taste great.

[Kleb]

Slow cookers are a good way to cut down on heat in the house. There some dessert and granola recipes that can be done in the slow cooker to. I've made granola and a chocolate pudding cake in one. The granola takes a little too long for me to make it very often.

[CraftHer]

Zu-Canoes. I saw this on FB and tried it this weekend. They were good. Next time, I'll use balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar.



Zu-Canoes

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zu_canoes.html
From EatingWell: July/August 2011Zucchini stuffed with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil make a fresh summer side dish. For the nicest presentation, use long, relatively skinny zucchini.
4 servings | Active Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients

• 2 medium 2-inch-wide zucchini
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Preparation

1. Trim both ends off zucchini; cut in half lengthwise. Cut a thin slice off the backs so each half sits flat. Scoop out the pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Finely chop the pulp; set aside.
2. Place the zucchini halves in a microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and microwave on High until tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. (Alternatively, steam in a steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water in a large skillet or pot.)
3. Whisk oil, vinegar, shallot and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add tomatoes, cheese, basil and the reserved zucchini pulp; toss to combine. Divide the filling among the zu-canoes.

Nutrition

Per serving : 87 Calories; 4 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 3 mg Cholesterol; 7 g Carbohydrates; 7 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 408 mg Sodium; 454 mg Potassium
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1/2 high-fat meat

[Bamps]

Over here, it's in the low 100's (Fahrenheit). I usually BBQ out on the gas grill, (charcoal is temp banned because of fire risk), with mesquite chips. We usually do steak or chicken breast and have it with pinto beans & tortillas or a camote and salad. I usually do up a HUGE pot of pinto beans and warm it up in the microwave as needed. The camote, (sweet potato) is "baked" in microwave as well then butter, cinnamon and chipotle powder added.