I don’t know about you all, but I think this heat wave is wearing me out. And when I’m worn out from the heat the last thing I want to do is stand over the stove and cook.
But just because I’m worn out doesn’t mean that I can just take an extended vacation from my responsibilities. My husband and kids don’t mind fending for themselves for a day or two. However anything longer than that and they will begin looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.
I’ll be the first to admit that my family is a bit spoiled. They love home cooked meals and prefer them over eating out.
So, what’s a woman to do?
1. Make meals that require no cooking such as salads and antipasto.
These dishes are easier to assemble with a few simple ingredients. Here are some must have pantry items for assembling a salad on the fly:
- mayo or ranch
- canned meat (ex; tuna, chicken)
- canned or jarred fruit and veggies (ex; olives, roasted peppers, mandarin oranges, artichoke, beans)
- various pasta
2. Make use of your electric cooking devices.
During the warmer months the use of a crockpot, pressure cooker, rice cooker or rotessire machine can make dinner time easier on everyone. There are certain meats that are perfect for simmering all day in the crock pot such as:
- whole chicken or oven stuffer roaster
- chuck roast
- boston butt
3. Use the warmer months to go meatless.
Meatless meals generally take less time to cook and don’t require much attention. This is a meal category that I often under utilize in the warmer months. When I think of soup I often think of hot soups. But there are some great chilled soup dishes that are easy to make.
- gazpacho
- pumpkin soup
You don’t need to be worn out to implement these tips. These are some overall helpful tips to help you keep your cool in the summer month.
Great tips! I’m going to go share this right now. ♥ Michelle
[Reply]
I use my crockpot during the summer too. I put it on our back patio to keep it from heating up the kitchen. I also have a solar cooker for cooking and heating up items. We alos use it for keeping things warm. For independence day everything was kept in it until people were ready to eat.
We also eat less meat during the summer. Lots of fruit and veggies. I hardboil eggs to keep in the fridge for protein.
[Reply]
The Proverbs Wife Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at
Hi Stacy. I thought about making a solar cooker. I saw a blogger who used their grill in the summer months to keep food warm. They used just the inside without and charcoal and heat from the sun to keep things warm inside the grill. I had never thought of doing that. Did you make your solar cooker? If so was it hard to do?
[Reply]