Warm weather meals; what's your favorite?

[babylonsister]

It's starting to get hot here, so when my SO wanted soup last night, I passed and instead had some cheese/apple/crackers (we had a big lunch so no huge appetites).
I like chef salads, and occasionally make BLTs and soup or salad.
How about some ideas for summer that are filling but don't require much in the way of cooking.
And yes, PBJ's do work!

[politicat]

1. Bacon-Tomato-ranch chicken-pasta salad.

Pasta salad with peas & carrots and chopped tomatoes with a sour-cream ranch dressing (I make my own) and some crumbled bacon and chopped chicken, all served on torn lettuce.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. You make your own?

I was just looking for a good homemade ranch dressing - care to share?

I'll give you a dollar.................. :)

[politicat]

10. No dollar needed.

Glad to share. The dressing mix is really easy, and it stores just as well as the HVR stuff, but with less salt and no unpronounceables.

I crush a tablespoon of kosher salt in the mortar and pestle (or use some other, fine-grained salt, but I'm a very lazy shopper and usually only have one type of salt), then mix that with about a cup and a half of buttermilk powder. (Baking section - it's dry milk like instant milk, but buttermilk instead of skim.) I add 3-5 teaspoons each of dried parsley, dill, onion, minced onion, and 2-3 teaspoons of fresh ground pepper and dry garlic. Shake well, seal in a dark container (I use a blue glass jar with a clampy lid that fits in my cupboard.)

When time to mix, it's a cup of nonfat yogurt and a cup of skim milk to 3 tablespoons of the powder. Add bacon bits, cucumber, diced tomato, powdered chipotle pepper.... For dip, it's 3 tablespoons of powder and 2 cups of either sour cream or thickened yogurt (put yogurt on clean, no-softener washed tea towel, then suspend above sink for an hour or more, letting whey either run away or collect in a bowl for some other use. Scrape off towel.)

[eleny]

2. Chilled beet soup with sliced cukes and sour cream mixed in

[DrDan]

3. I love blt's in the summertime

l and t from the garden

[livetohike]

4. My favorite is a feta cheese sandwich on a hard roll

with sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, some Kalamata olive slices, a splash of good olive oil and a little oregano.

[babylonsister]

18. Very Greek, and I love Greek food! nt

[japple]

5. Cheese salad with crackers

Nice big salad with several kinds of greenery. Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, from the garden. Cubes of different kinds of cheese. Sometimes chicken or ham. Walnuts or almonds, toasted & chopped. Newman's Own Balsamic Vinegar Dressing. Lots of Nut Thins (Blue Diamond crackers smoked almond or pecan).

Edit to add: Also, I love Whole wheat bread drizzled with olive oil, fresh basil, fresh tomato, and very thinly sliced cheese.

[sleepyhead]

6. Tuna salad wrap

Tuna, chopped peppers, onions, celery, mayo, seasoning of choice (curry?), +/- shredded cheese, and wrap in a burrito-sized tortilla. On a cool evening add a cup of soup.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. Cold roast chicken

Lots of raw vegetables - cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, sweet onions, tomatoes - on the plate, and a nice, cool, lemon-and-garlic stuffed roast chicken for the middle.

We eat with our fingers.

[babylonsister]

9. Thanks! You all put my PBJs to shame! nt

[Lorax]

11. When it's really hot

I am insane for tomato sandwiches on rye bread and just a smidge of mayo.

I also really like the crockpot for hot weather days. I used it to make pulled BBQ pork, or even roast a chicken that I shred and put into soft tacos.

[NMDemDist2]

13. I like cucumber sandwiches too, with pepper and mayo YUM n/t

[NMDemDist2]

12. I like to grill when it's hot

any kinda meat :shrug: I use marinated chicken, NY strips or even marinated pork chops

with roasted red taters

2 red potatoes per person and one extra "for the pot" diced
red onion sliced into rings
a pat of butter per person
Mrs Dash
black pepper

seal everything in double thickness foil and grill, turning once.

the envelope will puff up and the taters get browned and crispy YUM


and we love diced fresh tomato and cucumber salad. just dice the veggies, add some salt (or Mrs. Dash) and pepper and shake in a tupperware container and chill, no dressing needed

the best part of these meals are no pots and pans to wash :bounce:

[babylonsister]

16. You're back already? How was your trip and did you

find an area you loved?

And your summer meal also sounds great, and easy!

[NMDemDist2]

20. we came home a day early

and yes we LOVED Carlsbad, NM

didn't take a single picture though.......

but found a real estate agent and she has a great property we think might work and she thinks it will still be available in the 6 weeks we need

7 acres with a 4/2 house of 1700+ square feet :bounce:

[babylonsister]

22. Holy mackeral! That's hugh!1! Congrats, and I hope it all

works out for you both! :hug: Do you like to garden? :hide:

[NMDemDist2]

23. i will be in the gardening group all winter asking stupid questions

you can count on it :rofl:

[Onlooker]

14. watermelon and arugla

I had a salad the other day at a French restaurant that consisted of arugula, cubed watermelon, goat cheese, and some kind of nut (pine nuts?). It was delicious and struck me as a perfect warm weather salad.

[grasswire]

15. gazpacho

I make an easy version that is basically V-8 juice with a load of chopped veggies. Here's how I do it. First I whirl some V-8 juice in the blender with some chunked up veggies just to give the base of the soup a bit more flavor and thickness. Then I add chopped (pretty finely chopped) carrots, unpeeled cukes, parsley, green onion, radishes, tomatoes, bell pepper. Then I add crushed black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of tabasco. You could add garlic; I don't. I just want the cold veggies to shine.

Serve it very cold; I add an ice cube to it before serving.

[babylonsister]

17. That sounds so healthy! Mr. PITA

would hate it, but I'm bookmarking this thread for myself! Thanks! Is gazpacho the soup you can throw a dollop of sour cream into?

[grasswire]

25. you could plop sour cream into it

Maybe borscht is the soup you're thinking of, though, with beets and sour cream.

But gazpacho is flexible. It could go more Mexican, for example, with some jalapenos or salsa thrown in. It's just SO cold and refreshing.

[wryter2000]

19. Waaaaahhh

It's still dark and cold here. It hasn't gotten over 70. I can't stand it.

My neighbor got out and barbecued anyway on Sunday. If I'd had anything thawed, I would have done the same with my parka on.

[Dora]

21. Grill, crock-pot, salads, sandwiches.

Minimal effort w/ maximum yum is key to keeping the sanity in our kitchen in the summer.

[Ecumenist]

24. Grilled spiced chicken, cucumber and bell pepper salad

and afghan bread.. DELISH!!