It's Hot Here and I Need "Cool" Recipes/ideas

Get a really good and big crockpot and make friends with it! It will save you time, energy, and it barely creates any heat. Just throw some things in the morning and by evening scoop out dinner with a quick side salad or fruit or veggie tray.
Happy cooking!

Egg salad is always a possibility... the eggs just need to boil for a bit. Good luck, we are in the same boat, and it's aweful!

There are SO many recipes for gazpacho. I just use a quart tomato juice (I like Campbells, but you can use V8), peel and dice up 2 cucumbers (I like bite size pieces), dice up 1 green pepper, mince in a clove or 2 of garlic (I LOVE the garlic), a squirt of lemon juice, a tablespoon of olive oil, a bunch of fresh finely minced parsley (some prefer cilantro - I prefer curly). Mix it up in a pot, chill and serve. It's cold, crunchy and delicious! (My husband likes to add some Tabasco to his serving.)

One of my family's favorite is sub salad. Basically it's a big sub sandwich in a bowl. I put in all the things I normally would put on a sub- pepperoni, lunch meat, chunked cheese, olives, pepperochinis (sp?)... whatever you like. Then I cut up french bread into bit sized pieces (most of the time I make garlic toast out of it first, but that's not necessary) Add oil & vinegar or a vinegarette, if you like, and voila! Fabulously yummy dinner! I love it because it's fast and easy and verisital (ok, I'm having spelling issues- 4 hrs sleep not a good idea. :-) ). You can make whatever combination of stuff that you and your family like best.
We also sometimes have popcorn and fruit. I make a huge fruit salad and just pop some corn to go with it. My mom use to do this sometimes when we were growing up after we had a large dinner/lunch and wanted a light dinner. My kids think it's a great treat.
Good luck! You can also check out allrecipes.com for great ones too.

I don't really have a good answer for you, but am ready for the responses!!!

My absolute favorite hot weather recipe is gazpacho! You can find a good recipe online but basically you just throw some tomatoes, onion, green peppers, cucumber, garlic, and olive oil in a blender or food processor. It's so simple and quick -- you don't have to chop things small, just cut them in chunks to fit in the blender. The recipe I use also calls for a little bit of vinegar and pepper sauce, I believe. Add a dollop of sour cream and some nice sliced bread on the side -- so yummy!

We also really like sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with a little pesto sauce on rolls. Cool and easy.

Hi! My recommendation would be to get a crock pot (slow cooker). You can buy them in different sizes to fit your family. They sell so many cook books with recipes for them too. This way you can work on your dinner in the morning, not heat up the house, and have a hot meal in the evening. Hope this helps!

It's not that hot here yet! We like to have pasta salad with lots of veggies (cucumber, tomato, carrots, broccoli, red peppers, olives, garbanzo beans & feta cheese & italian/ caesar dressing). Cooking Light.com has a great recipe for Roasted Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta Salad ( has grapes and toasted walnuts). I use leftover grilled chicken or you can buy a rotisserie chicken. I also make casseroles which we can have for leftovers and don't have to heat up the kitchen 2 nights in a row.

It's not the healthiest and you do have to cook the pasta, but it's one of our family favorites in the heat of the summer.
Cook a box (I never look at ounces sorry) of some small pasta. Like elbows, bow ties even zita. When cooked drain.
Dice up a loaf of velveeta, and a little boneless ham.
Mix with pasta an Miracle Whip and put in the fridge.

Like I said, not healthy but good and cold on a hot day. It makes quite a bit too.

i like to make vegtable sushi, smoothies are great. my kids love eating organic frozen veggies out of the bag (green bean popsicles are what we call them). there are so many different salads beyond just the green salad, so explore. carrot salad, beet salad, i like putting a variety of berries on green salads and nuts. there are a bunch of different chilled soups that are delicious. blts and panini's, tuna fish, raw veggies and dips, hummus and pita.....
i also live in AZ and refuse to turn the oven on during these months. I'm all about stove top and grill. Put your grill in the shade and it's really not so bad roasting veggies rather then burgers and dogs which take more attention. Also eating later in the summer, so you can start the grill as the sun is setting is fun too.
bon appetit!

Good question- I need answers too. My staples for summer are sandwiches and salads too. I love chicken salad. My new favorite sandwich is white cheddar cheese with apple slices and dijon mustard. I love pasta salads too.

Another summery dish that isn't neccessarily cold, but still light is pasta with pesto.

The hardest part for me is that all my summery food ideas seem more like lunch instead of dinner. So I can't wait to see what other answers you get.

We like doing pasta salads, you do have to cook the pasta but that's all. Throw in veggies and a light sauce and it can be served warm or cold. Check out allrecipes.com for recipe suggestions!

Buy a raw foods cookbook or two. The number of ways they come up with to not cook is really remarkable.

There are lots of cold soups that are yummy -- potato, cucumber, borscht, with a dollop of sour cream -- some are savory and some are fruity and sweet for dessert.

Poached salmon...make the night before when it's not so hot...

Taco salad is a good option. You do have to cook the taco meat but other than that and the beans it is all fresh ingredients. You need ground beef, refried beans, taco seasoning, onions, tomatoes, cheese, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa and tortilla chips or taco salad shells (you can buy them pre-made in the mexican isle or buy a kit in the refrigerated section near the cheese and sour cream that you form and cook yourself). Layer the ingredients on a plate lined with tortilla chips or in a taco salad shell and serve.

Wraps are good too. In the tortilla section at the store they have spinach or jalapeno or sun dried tomato flavored tortillas, they are all good. I use the spinach ones, make my own pesto mayo by mixing a little pre-made pesto sauce with a little mayo, put on turkey, salami, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, sprouts, lettuce and cheese. Of course you can put a variety of whatever your family likes on them. Roll it up, cut in half and serve. It would be good served with some of the pasta salad ideas some of the other posters have suggested.

I'm jealous. Here in "sunny" California, it's cold and raining. Ugh!

Our summer favorites include appetizers for dinner - put out a tray of deli cold cuts, cheeses, crackers, cornichons, pickled veggies, olives, etc, and let everyone fend for themselves. Works well with a nice chilled Chardonnay! =)

We love chilled cucumber soup. It is so refreshing!

My mom is a chef and makes an olive oil ice cream (I know that sounds so weird, but it is DELICIOUS!). As you might guess, it's not super-sweet and is delightful on a hot summer night.

Another recipe I like is to buy a whole, cooked chicken from the supermarket (it is not much more expensive than buying the raw ones, and if they're willing to stand over the grill...) - anyhow, shred the chicken meat with your fingers. Chop up avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, shred some cheese, and put out some tortillas, and let everyone make their own soft tacos.

I like allrecipes.com.They have different recipes aaallll the time! Lots of soups and great ideas for different things.

I love to make gazpacho. All kinds of yummy "cool" veggies in a tomato base. With cheese/salami, glass of wine and crusty bread. Yummy....
Too bad it's raining here.
S.

I just recently fell in love with my crockpot/ slow cooker! It doesn't make my kitchen hot at all and you throw everything in it in the morning and walk away until dinner time. I've found lots of good recipes online, Facebook groups, http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ , and from friends. We even did a play date where everyone brought a different crock pot meal to share and copies of the recipes. That was my favorite because if I had just read the recipes I probably never would've made some of the recipes that are now my absolute favorites. It helps when you get to try it and not have to make it! Most would be hot meals for dinner but won't heat up your house while it's cooking! Good luck!