i need ideas

hey there ladies i need some good cool summer dishes to make one where i dont have to use oven or stove to much
we have worn out our favs and need some new ideas .... now i should let you know one of the girls is veggietarian and the little one are kinda fussy about tring new foods they like noddles and chicken and hot dogs lol any help would be great due to it is 90 today and we are hot lol good thing we have the pool

thanks for your tips
debbie j

Have you looked at Rachel Rays stuff? She's chicken and pasta crazy!

My favorite salad I learned to make when we lived in the South is Seven Layer Salad (I'll give it to you as printed, but I just put in as much as looks good)
1 Head Lettuce (cut fine) 1 Spanish onion(chop)
1/2 c celery 1 Pkg frozen peas(uncooked)
1/2 c. green pepper 4 oz grated Cheddar
8 Slices bacon (fried) 2 cups Mayo
2 tsp. sugar

Mix mayo and sugar. layer and top with mix. Cover and refrigerate. It's really good, really cold. And you can make it a day ahead if you need to. The layers look real nice in a clear bowl, so it's nice to take to pot lucks. Mix it up and enjoy.

Now, it's Southern, it's got to have sugar in it. I would probably be shot in Tennessee, but I don't use the sugar and I have found that Kraft makes a good low-fat mayo. If you've got them, you can use fresh peas. But if you leave out the bacon it's just salad. And try to use real bacon (you can make bacon in the micro so you don't heat up the kitchen). Of course your vegetarian won't be satisfied. Maybe try a fake bacon for that one.

What about salads...cole slaw,potato salad or taco salad...

Potato's done on the bbq is always good...

Smiles & Hugs...

Originally Posted by Laura687

Now, it's Southern, it's got to have sugar in it. I would probably be shot in Tennessee,.

Yup, I'm in Tennessee... whar's ma gun?


I believe it's the Northerners that put the sugar in everything. Here in the South, sugar is reserved for sweet tea, cakes, cookies, pies and occaisionally a cup of coffee. We don't dare put a single crystal of sugar in cornbread or stew, or any kind of salads. That'd just ruin tha taste of the roadkill

oh ladies you crack me up and yes knit wit you are right it is us northeners that put sugar in every thing lol and you are also right it does ruin the taste of road kill ( i grew up with a family of hunters) i do have the seven layer salad recipe and thanks for it again my dad is the one who usually makes it for our family pot lucks but it has been a while since we have had it may have to do it tomrrow night seeings it is going to be 90 again ohhhh and did we get a doosy of a storm roll thur today it rian so hard it was comming strait down and i could not see my garden out my living room windows and it is only 50 feet from my house yuck

thanks for the ideas and keep them comming

debbie j

We are basically living off salads and sandwiches with this heat wave. I hear you about getting bored with the basics. We eat very light meals in this heat, when this heat hits none of us feel like eating so we more or less snack. I keep the fridge full of veggies and fruit, as well as lunch meats, cheese, etc. When I do get a super nice cool day I make up stuff that can be froze and thawed for those hot days.

Some others we enjoy in this heat are:

Fruit plates
Omelets-quick and easy
cracker and cheese plates
salads-potato-mac-garden-chicken ceasar-
Wraps all kinds-chicken ceasar-grilled chicken-veggie
Crepe wrap with cream cheese and veggies or ham
Tacos
Stir fry-usually make it the night before when it is cool as well as the rice
Veggies and dip
Rice salad-plain white instant rice-lots of veggies-if wanted meat of some kind usually chicken sometime just a cup of ground beef-sometime I will throw in a can of cream soup with it

A fave is hash browns:

Take a oven proof dish(roasting pan) that can with stand the heat of the BBQ on low heat(spray the inside of the pan with pam or something like that for easier cleaning)
two small packages of frozen hash browns
two cans of a cream soup such as mushroom-broccolli and cheddar
one onion diced
a large container of sour cream
a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Combine all the ingredients into the cooking dish, cover with tin foil, but on grill on low heat bake about one hour or until hash browns are cooked, remove tin foil, sprinkle a little cheddar on top, return to grill to melt cheese on top, serve. you can also do this in a toaster oven outside just cut the recipe in half to fit a smaller dish.

I try not to cook in the house too much in the summer. My favorite cooking items for this weather are my crockpot and electric roaster. I have a little table set outside just for this. I can cook a full meal in either of them and not heat up the house at all. My other fave item for cooking is my electric frying pan I set it outside as well. I have even resorted to using a hot plate outside to boil pasta or my veggies. We don't have a BBQ yet hopefully in the next couple of weeks mine will be ready to cook on. We are going with cool old brick BBQ, I love cooking on an open fire instead of gas grill. Call me weird I guess

Smiles n hugs
Leah

thanks poor girl

we have a fire pit outside we use for marshmellows( and peeps too) all the time it just dawned on me we could cook meals on it too make some of the favs of when i used to go camping as a kid oh and your hash brown dish sounds wonderful

thanks
debbie j

I like to make a couple of salads-pea salad (recipe in the soups, salads and side dishes is a good one), cold cuts and buns with pickles, etc on really hot days with ice cream or jello for dessert