Too Hot to Cook -- Alternatives?

Okay, I detest heat.  Even more than heat, I detest cooking when it's hot.    I would love some ideas for cold or minimally cooked dinners.  We really have run the gamut of salads lately: shrimp salad, chef salad, cold chicken and salad, etc, etc.

So what are your favourite recipes for those steamy days when the last thing you want to do is turn on an oven/hob?

Barbeque or eat out - and yes, I know eating out all the time is expensive, but can't think of anything else other than perhaps cold soups, which I don't know too many who like them.

  Barbeques as Elle said.BLTs are good esp with soup 

I know you think you've done the gamut of salads...but one we had a few weeks ago which was great and easy was:

Bagged mixed salad from Sainsburys
Cold smoked "mediterranian seasoned" salmon flakes
Feta w/olives & seasonings in oil (comes like that in the cheese section)

It was gorgeous.  Just opened 3 packets and mixed it all up!  Easy, cool, and very *posh* if I may say so myself!  Served it with some rosemary bread and rose'.

I agree with elle that the BBQ suggestion is a good one.  And I don't know anyone who actually likes cold soup - even though I personally have about 20 recipes for them! 

Other ideas are maybe casseroles where everything goes in one dish in the oven and you're not sitting over the stove.  I like ones where you don't even have to pre-brown/cook the meat.  Just slop it all in there and toss it in the oven!

Here's a nice salad (but a bean salad!):

16 oz. shredded chicken breast
30 oz. cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Just mix it all up and chill for a couple of hours.  It's really good, but be warned--you'll have garlic breath!   

Or, for one of those "toss it all in the oven and walk away" kind of meals:

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c. rice
1 packet french onion soup mix
1 tsp parsley

Mix the soup, rice and parsley together with about half a soup can of water and pour into a casserole dish.  Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the french onion soup mix over the entire thing.  Seal with foil and cook at 350F (don't forget to convert!) for about 2 hours.

Lola, I'm going to have to try that chicken/bean salad I think!  That sounds lovely. 

It's soooo good!  But you have to take my garlic-breath warning seriously!  My DH says the salad "honks", so make your DH eat it too...otherwise you won't be getting any kisses from him for a day or two after you eat it!   

We are serious garlic lovers in this house, so no problem there!  We often have it raw on the side with certain dinners! 

In fact, we have some "pickled" garlic cloves w/chilies in the fridge right now - yum!

My grandmother always used to make homemade mac and cheese and tuna salad. The tuna salad had hard boiled eggs, celery and black olives all mixed together with Miracle Whip. the mac and cheese was homemade but had to be oven baked ..TOO HOT! But tuna stuffed tomatoes are really nice on a hot day.
I know we dont get hot days here very often but we should have a/c just for those few hot days! lol
Also why dont they have screens on the windows here? My house always has bees (They say wasps) and flies everywhere this time of year.
Pebs

Oh - tuna-stuffed tomatoes...that sounds good!

I'm getting hungry now!

Think Mediterranean, Italian style; a kind of antipasto:

A selection of Italian cold cuts on a platter, fresh baked bread (see your local supermarkets bakery section), sliced fresh mozarella w/ sliced tomatoes with fresh basil and drizzled with olive oil, a selection of cheeses, olives, etc....

Pop a bottle of chilled white wine, or cold beer and it's a meal!

My favorite pasta salad...I just love it.
Although, I have to now vary it for UK ingredients.
It takes two days to make, however.

1 box of tri-color pasta spiral pasta
Boil for a few minutes LESS time than what the package says. You want it slightly hard.

1 bottle of oil&vinegar-based dressing with bits in it
In the US I used Kraft Zesty Italian; here, I'm still looking for the perfect, but any I've used so far have been adequate.
After the pasta has mostly boiled, put it in a large bowl and add the dressing. Mix and refrigerate covered overnight. The idea is that the pasta softens when it soaks up all the dressing. It's really just marinading overnight.

-next day-

1 bottle of creamy dressing
In the US I used Marie's Creamy Garlic; here, I'm still looking for the perfect, but any cream-based, like Caesar, I've used so far have been adequate.
Mix this with the pasta, plus any cut-up raw veggies that you like. I usually add:
- red, yellow, orange peppers
- carrots
- red onions
- zucchini (courgettes)

Plus, I also add crumbled feta cheese.

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas ladies.  I'm sure to be able to scrounge something up for dinner tonight.

My biggest problem is that hubby, son #1 and I have certain foods we hate, and sadly each one dislikes a different thing.  No-no's are: fish, olives, courgettes, tomatoes (in most cases) and beans.  Between the heat and the finicky eaters, dinner over the next few days should prove an interesting challenge.

I detest hot weather too!! You can always put on another sweater or turn up the heat, but you can only take off so many clothes!!!

Does hatred of fish include shrimp, Caitlinn? I love this one and the oven only has to be on a short time (and the olives can certainly be left out (Jamie hates them too):

WARM ARUGULA (ROCKET), PRAWN AND POTATO SALAD
Yield: 2 servings

12 LARGE prawns (3/4 lb.)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (divided purpose)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lb. small, red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary (divided purpose)
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2 small bunches arugula/rocket (6 – 7 oz.), trimmed, washed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces (or ¼ lb. baby arugula, to yield 3 ½ to 4 cups loosely packed)

1. Heat the oven to 425°. In a medium bowl, toss the prawns with ½ tablespoon of the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Pour onto one side of a large rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.

2. In the same bowl, toss potatoes with another ½ tablespoon of the olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of the rosemary, and more salt and pepper. Pour onto the other side of the baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.

3. Roast until the prawns are cooked through and opaque (7 to 8 minutes). Remove the shrimp from the baking sheet and set aside to cool. Return the potatoes to the oven and continue to roast until tender and slightly crisp around the edges (about 15 minutes longer).

4. Meanwhile, chop the garlic, add two good pinches of salt, and mince into a course paste. In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, lemon zest and juice, the remaining ¼ teaspoon of rosemary, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if necessary.

5. When the potatoes are done, put them in a medium bowl along with the prawns, parsley, and olives. Add half of the dressing and toss to coat. In another bowl, toss the arugula with the remaining dressing. Arrange the dressed arugula/rocket on dinner plates, top with the prawns and potatoes, and serve.

I didn't do the conversions since I brought all of my American measuring stuff over.... It's lovely with some nice crusty french bread.... I wish I had the ingredients on hand in fact! 

Do you have a slow-cooker Caitlinn?
I think they're great cos they dont heat up the house!

Bring on the autumn... i hate hot weather!