Ideas for meals that don’t need the oven or hob on please!

[MyNameIsNotMummy]

Kitchen is literally like Hell’s Kitchen when I cook in this heat and I drip with sweat while doing it!

We’ve done couscous salad but had to grill the chicken.

Salads with cold deli meats but had to boil new potatoes to go with it as DC won’t eat shop bought potato salad.

What’s everyone else doing for dinners?

Don’t say BBQ as really cbarsed getting it all set up, scrubbing the racks afterwards and it still makes me sweaty hanging over it.

Cold meat with waffles cooked in the toaster? Scrambled eggs & beans on toast?

Do you have a microwave? Foods in a microwave bag you can zap like fish, rice or potatoes. Microwave jacket spuds with tuna. Cheese or pate with bread. Cooked chicken (you can buy fresh or buy frozen and defrost) with mayo in wraps. Falafel doesn't need cooking, that in toasted pittas. I'm the same, a sweaty mess by the time I've dished up 🥵

We're having pasta with tomato and mascarpone sauce tonight, from morrisons chiller cabinet. Although the pasta needs boiling it's only a 4 minute job.

I can tell you what NOT to do.
A risotto while having a cake in the oven (placed under the hob, naturally)
That's what I did yesterday and quite early on in the process I realised that it was a terrible, terrible mistake.

Sandwiches and salads.

Greek salad with plenty of feta and some cold meats on the side

Baguette, cheese, salad
Couscous salad with chick peas, herbs and salad bits in
Bean salad - open any cans of beans like kidney, cannelloni, chickpeas with lots of whatever salad you like.
Order pizza

@FastFood

I made exactly the same meal yesterday...and it was a mistake. Although the cake was yummy, if I do say so myself.🤣

We did a ploughman's for dinner;

Ham, boiled eggs, naice cheese, quiche, tomatoes ,pickles, celery, apple, naice bread.

Was hoovered up by a family who insist salad is not a meal, but a side ( I'd live on it personally).

We had cerviche today

Tuna bean salad. Drain tins of tuna & cannellini beans, mix with chopped red onion, salt & pepper, oil & vinegar, chopped parsley if you have it. Serve with leaves etc and maybe new potatoes if you can stand to cook them.
My favourite standby!

Microwave is quick and easy - pouch of new potatoes microwaved (ones in a dressing in prepared veg section) with salad leaves, cucumber, baby beetroot and goats cheese with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Fish cooks in 2mins so salad with fish (or use cooked fish). Stir fry takes 5 mins, reducing heat emitted. If you have camp equipment, make it fun for your dc and get them using the camp stove outside?

This is where a slow cooker reigns... good investment for years to come.

Pre-cooked salmon fillets on salad. Or if you like chicken a rotisserie one with salad.

Microwave rice with protein and salad bits.

Takeaway!

My appetite is shot in this heat, just been fridge-diving for meals.

Great suggestions. Keep them coming. We are a family of 6 so lots of food to prepare!

Decided on microwave rice (thank you so much, why didn’t I think of that before !), with deli cooked chicken and salad wraps for tonight.

I have a slow cooker hidden deep in my pot cupboard so will do slow cooked lamb with pittas and salad for tomorrow.

Could also do a bolognaise in it with courgetti which only takes minutes to sauté so not like boiling pasta.

Have a air fryer but that blows hot air although will try for meats. Got to be less hot than the oven!.

We're doing a roasting tin one dish meal - chop it all and then put it in the oven, no standing over it required. The kids won't eat salad or I'd be doing that.

I did a nice salad the other days. Just some leaves, a packet of those hot smoked salmon fillets, avocado and a packet of merchant gourmet lentils. Lemon juice, shallot and olive oil dressing.

Microwave baked potatoes with beans (heated in MW) and cheese.

Cold quiche and salad. Or pork pie/gala pie and salad.

Could you also do some cooking once it's cool? We like potato salad in this weather and also don't want the hob on, so I made a load at 9pm once it was cooling down and we'd opened all the windows. Could grill fish, chicken etc then too to have cold the next day.

Noodle stir fry, if you cut everything really small it cooks quickly, use instant noodles.

We used to grill or fry something really quick for meat and get chips from the takeaway! Cheaper than a full meal but saved the oven going on.

I've put my tower fan in the kitchen but I was still boiling 😞. And the oscillating feature has packed up!

I put my slow cooker in the conservatory the other day as didn't want to heat the house up with it mm and cooked the chicken. It cooks lovely in the slow cooker and I didn't have to put the oven on job done. Did cook a few potatoes 🥔 but with the extra on it's not to bad for a short time.

Unfortunately my lot won't eat salad either. I like a plowman lunch idea though that mite work.