Hot Summer Ideas...PLEASE

Do you have a crock pot. There is a pulled pork sandwich recipe on Campbells website. All done in the crock pot.
http://recipe.aol.com/recipe/slow-cooked-pulled-pork-sand...
It is wonderful and will last a few days. I dont know about the calorie count. I bet the little one would eat this too.
GOOD LUCK

This may not be considered a dinner meal, but it is certainly a major favorite around here for a cool lunch.(It is a cold pasta salad dish). BE WARNED, I DONT KNOW THE EXACT MEASUREMENTS:( Cook 1 box of small pasta shells, drain, and mix with 1 large can of chicken( I use white meat only, and shred it in the bowl and mix with the other indgredients, before adding the pasta.) Add shredded carrots to taste(I use matchstick carrots, and cut them a little)and lite mayo. I think I use about 1/4-1/2 cup, but really I don't know. You just want to coat the pasta. And season it with some Lawry's seasoned salt. If you want, you can add diced boiled eggs..I never take the time to do that,but its good. I know it seems like a strage recipe, but TRUST ME, you guys will enjoy it, your son, is likely to love it. This will last you a little while too, just add more mayo if it starts to dry out. We serve with cut up fruit and love it everytime!! I hope you try it:)

This is SOOO Delicious!!

Summer Tomato and Crab Salad

Low-fat, Gluten-free
Summer Tomato and Crab Salad

Heirloom tomatoes come in a rainbow of colors. In the summer, green, striped, yellow, orange and purple tomatoes can be purchased at the market. If available, choose three different colors to make this a gorgeous summer harvest salad. The dill sour cream in this recipe also pairs well with fresh vegetables. Serve this salad by itself, on a bed of greens or roll it up in wraps for an easy and refreshing summer meal.
Serves 6

* 2 1/2 pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored and chopped
* 1 pound cooked crab meat
* 1/4 cup chopped chives
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest
* Salt and white pepper to taste
* 3/4 cup low fat or regular sour cream
* 2 tablespoons chopped dill
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Put tomatoes, crab, chives, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper into a large bowl and toss gently to combine; set aside. Stir together sour cream, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Spoon tomato and crab salad onto plates and serve with dollops of the dill sour cream on the side.

Sometimes my schedule literally runs 630aam to 1130pm - so when we see it coming we prepare for the "quick meals". I spend one day prepping and cooking - then the rest of the time it is just a quick assemble or warm-up. Here's a few that we use in summer time a really love:

Your favorite pasta salad
Basic garden salad (in a bag is even better)
Rice - we love saffron "yellow rice"
Grilled or baked chicken
Tuna (I like the fresh foil packs better)

I prep ahead all that I can and then the family does a pick and pile when it's time to eat! Pasta salad + tuna and shredded carrots; Saffron rice + grilled chicken and fresh snow peas (available at the market). We've used it when it's just too hot to cook too! Good luck - let everyone pick one main iten and 2-3 "pile ons" :)

have you tried taco salad? my 2 1/2 year old loves it! just make a salad.. we use lettuce, cucumbers , and tomato.. add cut up avacado and shredded cheese <if you like it> hamburger meat - like you are m aking tacos.. and catalina dressing... you can eat it with or without tortilla chips.. we just line the bottom of the plate with tortilla chips add the salad then the dressing.. nice quick meal!

Another tip on taco salads...
they have great shells in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the mexican cheeses, usually. The brand is Azteca and it is a flat box. You can put them on the forms and cook them in just a couple of minutes to get a salad bowl like in a restaurant. Yes, you have to turn the oven on but they are GOOD!

I make a penne pasta saute. I do NOT have exact measurements because I used the recipe once and now I jsut add what we like and make it my own. I have a family of 3 so adjust accordingly...

I use 3-4 cups of penne pasta cooked.
2-3 Hot Italian Sausages from Hirsch's (sliced and cooked)
sliced onion, red and green bell peppers, a few mushrooms, garlic to taste ( I use a lot), fresh basil and oregano
1 can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)

Using a large skillet ( I use a large cast iron pot) Cook sausage over med heat until not pink in the center, drain if needed, add onion peppers, garlic, and cook until veggies are tender, add tomatoes, oregano, basil salt and pepper to taste, simmer about 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta and simmer another 2-3 minutes.

I cook this in the morning because because as the dish sets, the flavors really set in nicely. At dinnertime, I just re-heat in the microwave a couple of minutes. This tastes great if it sits for a couple of hours and then day 2-3 leftovers are really flavored well!

Good luck

Hi...don't know what your outdoor situation is, but you could invest in a small electric grill or my sister recently bought one that uses a propane tank (like for camping), but it's a full size grill. She loves hers, also. If you like fish (great weight loss food), you can grill salmon in a matter of minutes, shrimp, or even the small pork tenderloins. Recently we were trying to move into our house, but we were living in an RV til we could move in and I cooked some pretty good stuff by microwaving and grilling. One thing my husband enjoyed, was diced zucchini & squash and onions, seasoned with lemon-pepper or whatever you like, microwave just a bit then I put it in a foil pouch and finished on the grill. I also did red potatoes like that seasoned with chopped rosemary, kosher salt, Olive oil and onions. It was great!

Hope this helps!!
D. G. OH PS My 3 y/o grandson LOVES the pork tenderloin!

Gezpacho-all veggies, cold soup. Great!

Here are a few things that we do when it gets this hot outside:

1. Chef Salad with cheese and sliced up lunchmeats like ham & turkey on top. In this heat I don't boil the eggs to place on top. My kids love it with ranch dressing.

2. Frozen meals cooked in the microwave so the house doesn't get any hotter.

3. Taco salad: Cook hamburger meat and drain add in the taco seasoning packet. Cut up lettuce, tomato and smash up dorito's cool ranch or nacho cheese (about 1/2 the bag). Mix everything together and throw in some cheese. For you and your husband top with your favorite salsa. My kids just top thiers with sour cream.

Here are my few suggestions:

- Invest in a crock pot recipe book.

- Spend ONE day making several meals that will heat up your house for only about 1/2 a day. Freeze them or put them in your fridge in microwave storage containers. Then when you are ready to prepare a meal, you only have to use the microwave.

- Put your microwave, crock pot, and a large toaster oven (ours cooks a 14 inch pizza) into your garage (or if you have one a large laundry room with a door that closes it off from the rest of the house). [My next house will have a LARGE laundry room with a TV, recliner, table to fold clothes on, and all the great things I will need to retreat from my family when I feel the need. And it will definately have a door so I can close it when company comes over . . . Oh, sorry, I was day dreaming again. LOL]

Good luck!

Blessings,

P. <><

I have a super yummy fruit salad I LOVE
the amount I give now will be about enough for the 3 of you to eat it in one sitting, you can always double or triple things it only saves for about a day.

cut everything into slightly smaller then bite sizes pieces, so 2-3 pieces fit in our mouth at once
1 apple
1 pear
1 hand full grapes (cut in halves or quarter)
1 can juice pack peaches (drain juice, fresh peaches aren't as good)
1 orange (cut the skin off instead of just peeling and then cut instead of sectioning)
1 6-8oz carton yogurt I really like vanilla but you can also use plain
1T all fruit blue berry spreed (you can use any berry flavor)

put all the cut fruit in a bowl
stir fruit spreed into yogurt(or use flavored yogurt, but I think there are less cal. in the spreed)
stir yogurt into fruit
I like to add nuts, pecans are my FAV, but you can keep these out to sav calories if you want.

this is a yummy dessert or a side to grilled meat and veg OR I really like it as breakfast with some granola or grape nuts mixed in.
Now I am off to read the other ideas

One of my absolute favorite places to check on the web everyday is crockpot365.blogspot.com. She posts a crockpot recipe (or idea for use) everyday. And she's so creative. You won't believe the things she makes in her crock! And every recipe includes her kids reactions to it. Just don't be scared if you go there today. She is using it as a footbath. Gross . . . but check out her categories. She's awesome! BTW, I agree that you can put your crockpot outside or in your garage to keep from heating up your home.

I am a vegetarian, so this one is meatless! It is one of our favorites and very easy!
Black Bean and Corn Tortillas

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) corn, rinsed and drained
1 med tomato, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 TBL olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp ground cumin
1 TBL chopped cilantro
4 whole-wheat tortillas

In large bowl, toss together beans, corn, tomato and avocado. Combine olive oil, garlic and cumin in small glass bowl; microwave for 30 seconds. Pour mixture over beans and corn. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Warm tortillas in microwave. Place in cup or small bowl, and fill with salad. Serves 4.

when it comes to NOT heating the kitchen try awakening the inner "Grillmaster" in you. Who says that only the man can be the "Master of the Grill"? We are avid campers so, we have lots of cast iron cookware that we us on our outside grill. You can make an entire meal (including desert)using your grill or charcoal briquets!

Another option is to dust off that crock-pot and look up some "slow cooker" options. If you MUST heat something up, use a toaster oven. Not only will it help keep the kitchen cool, but uses much less energy than your microwave or full size oven as well.

D.
SAHM of 2 (18 and 4...at home)1 already flew the nest.

KS
Here is a yummy salad that my family loves...INCLUDING my 3.5 year old.

1-2 cans ranch style beans, drained
1/2-1 head of lettuce, depending on how much you want to make
1 avocado, diced
1 tomatoe, diced
1/2 red oninon
1-2 large handfulls of finely shredded cheese (what ever type of cheese that you like)
1/2 bag of fritos, crushed up
catalina dressing.

cut all the veggies up and add beans and fritos... Slowly start to use the Catalina dressing. Be careful that you do not use to much or it will turn into catalina soup..YUCK! Season with salt and pepper to taste. ENJOY!