Posted on 08/22/2004 10:29:23 AM PDT by EvaClement
What are FReepers fixing to eat during these hot August days? I try to have something substantial without heating up the kitchen. We have only a charcoal grill and concluded a few weeks back that it's too much work to use very often -- no doubt those w/ gas grills are using them regularly as they aren't as much trouble.
I just toast the bread in the toaster, melt cheese on it in microwave, and serve cold (rather than toasting it in a skillet with butter which is only nice on cold days when one is trying to warm up the kitchen). Served w/ sliced tomatoes.
We have had this several times a week since it's been so hot, and it works; I am just hoping someone can suggest something else for variety.
I have a decent sized toaster oven that I plug in out on the deck and bake in that.
good idea!
you won't be heating up the kitchen doing that.
I have an electric wok I use all the time. It doesn't heat the place up much at all. I can make stir fry, curry, fajitas (today's lunch and dinner), and it's easy to clean up, too.
ping to the what's for dinner thread...
My favorite recipe, curry
1/2 can coconut milk. This can be expensive, but Wal-mart has it cheap.
2 tablespoons curry paste. Note: this is not curry powder. It's sold in jars in the Thai section, which is where the coconut milk will be.
Put the coconut milk and the curry paste in the wok. Mix it together. It'll turn into a nasty-looking yellow liquid. At this point, I add about a teaspoon of sriachi sauce, a spicy Thai sauce. It's very hot, so it can be omitted or you can add more to make really hot curry. I also put in some sliced onion.
Get the mixture boiling, and put in your meat. I've tried it with chicken, pork, and beef. All are good. Cut the meat into bite-sized chunks so it cooks faster.
When the meat is almost done cooking, throw in vegetables. I put in peppers, but zucchini and carrots would also be good.
Note: I'm not giving amounts for the meat and veg. It's a flexible recipe. Put in what you need to serve whomever's eating. If you're feeding more than four people, double the amount of coconut milk and curry paste.
This is really good served over rice, or if you're on Atkins, like me, just eat as it is!
Sounds GREAT! Thanks for writing it out for us! Feel free to explain how you fix fajitas and stirfry, too.
Fajitas? (grin) I follow the instructions on the fajita seasoning packet. What I like about them is that they'll last for several days.
Stir fry: there are a thousand variations. I cook some onions in olive oil, throw in the meat, a little Sriachi sauce, and two teaspoons of Emeril's original seasoning. Cook the meat, throw the veg in for a couple minutes. You can again use any meat and any veg you like. Combine them different ways and you can have stir-fry meals that are different several times a week.
Believe it or not, here in the Detroit area we have been having September weather all month. There have been some days when all we want is a cozy meal, so I haven't minded turning on an oven.
I'll take either a chicken brest tenderloin or an orange roughy filet and put it, frozen, on the George Foreman grill (it'll be done to perfection in minutes). I'll probably make a simple fried rice recipe or some stir-fried veggies as a side dish.
Oh, and for days when I need to use the oven, I use my Nesco Roaster instead. It doesn't heat up the kitchen, and it does a great job of baking. I also use it as a crock pot. I use hte heck out of that thing. I've rarely used the oven since I got my Nesco Roaster/slow cooker.
Ooh, I want to come eat at your house tonight. Mmmmm.
I have a "Progressive" brand microwave rice cooker (from Wal*Mart) which is a small plastic pressure cooker that's good all year around. It cost about five dollars.
Home-made Pimiento Cheese:
Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Toasted, Chopped Pecans to Taste
1 jar pimientos, to taste
mayonnaise, to taste
crushed red pepper or Tabasco sauce, to taste
You could also "assemble" a crockpot/slow cooker dish in a cool kitchen, then plug the appliance in on your porch or in your garage, if your kitchen gets hot that easily.
Slow cookers have been known to SAVE FREEPER MARRIAGES and KEEP FREEPER CHILDREN FROM STARVING during more active FReeper episodes (Lewinsky, post-2000 Election, 9-11, Shock and Awe, etc.).
CROCKPOT FAJITAS:
Into a crockpot/slow cooker, stack in this order:
1 beef rump or shoulder roast
1 cup dried pinto beans, washed
1 small can chopped green chiles
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 onion, chopped
1 can Rotel chopped tomatoes and green chiles
1 can water
Stack in order above. DO NOT MIX. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours (the longer the better). DO NOT OPEN LID. DO NOT STIR. Do not even look at it until it's done. When done, remove all but the liquid from the crockpot and put into a large casserole dish. Drain off excess liquid. With large forks, shred the roast and mix up the whole thing.
Serve with flour tortiallas and eat like fajitas. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, etc.
Makes A LOT of food.
Excellent. Thanks for spelling out each step; I need lots of help.
I cook meat and fish on the charcoal grill on the deck whenever possible in the summer-although we have had an unusually cool summer this year-September weather here, too. My husband is fond of spareribs on Sundays, so that is what I'm making tonight. I use Jim Beam #7 grilling sauce for a base, thin it with water and add my own onions, garlic, hot mustard, etc. I steam a fresh vegetable, cook texmati and wild rice or scalloped potatoes (also fresh-not processed or boxed), and make a salad to go with them. Shrimp salad with vegetable rotini and (bagged) spring mix greens, radishes, cucumbers, etc is hubby's favorite cold supper. Why he likes bagged greens instead of fresh ones is beyond me, but it certainly is a lot less trouble for me. We do not eat processed or precooked food because we like everything fresh, and we do grow many of our own vegetables-it is a bit more trouble, but nutritionally friendly.
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