Earlier this month, when the daytime temperatures shot into the low 90s, I thought it best to plan warmer weather menus. I easily think of the comforting hearty things we eat in cooler temperatures, but I struggle with the warm weather fare. I hope this list will help me be aware of my mealtime options.
When temperatures soar here, my AC does not keep up. If it's 95 or 100F outdoors, it's going to be 80F at least indoors, which isn't exactly cool. No, there's nothing wrong with my heat pump/AC. This is perfectly normal if you live here. I will keep my thermostat set a bit higher (usually about 76F) than most people to save on the electricity costs. I know many who routinely set their summer thermostat at 70F. I just can't do that. The unit will run and never shut off!
So to offset the warmer temperatures indoors, I avoid using my oven. When I make bread, I let the bread machine do all the work. I rely heavily on the stovetop, slow cooker, and toaster oven. This year we'll happily add the grill to the appliances that work hardest in summer.
I am the one in the household who wants a hot meal at least once a day. Not my husband, but me. If I could avoid eating sandwiches I would happily survive without them. John doesn't mind in the least. What he does miss is homemade baking items, especially desserts. So I took these things into account when I planned out my list of ideas.
Just in case you are looking for ideas to use, I thought I'd share some of mine. These are not complete menus. They are entree ideas with variations that I hope will see us through the hot months without bringing on boredom.
I'm breaking my list down into parts, so that you don't have one huge long post to read through. Today we'll start with Main Dish Salads.
Salads always come to mind, especially main dish salads. Just as I will serve a hearty soup or stew at least once a week in the cold months, during hot days, I try to serve a main dish salad at least once a week and sometimes two times.
Salads:
7-layer salad. My recipe calls for bacon and sliced boiled egg, but I thought if I subbed in bits of ham for the bacon, it would be more satisfying as a main-dish salad.
Chicken and Cheese Tortellini 'Salad'. This dish is served at more or less room temperature. It's a combination of cooked chicken, red bell pepper, green peas, green onions, and cooked cheese tortellini with a lovely lemon Parmesan dressing. It's hearty and satisfies more deeply than a lettuce-based salad for those days when I want something with more substance.
Cobb Salad: It's the presentation of this salad that wows. You can find recipes online or in most cookbooks for this classic salad.
Tuna or Chicken Salad Plates: Beds of lettuce, tomato wedges, thin carrot and celery sticks. John's objection to this salad plate is that it's not 'dressed'. I'm sure I can find a dressing that goes well with all the components and yet doesn't overwhelm the meat salad.
Buffalo Chicken Salad: Buffalo Chicken Tenders cut into pieces, celery sticks, shredded carrots, and blue cheese crumbles.
Tuna Pasta Salad: John's favorite and the recipe he brought to this household consists of cooked macaroni, canned tuna, and then whatever I can add to it in the line of vegetables I will. Usually shredded carrot, sliced bell pepper, olives (green and black), thinly sliced celery, diced onion, and dressed with lemon pepper and mayonnaise.
Italian Pasta Salad: Cooked pasta with mozzarella cubes, cherry tomato halves, black olives, pepperoni and salami pieces, onion, bell peppers with a good Italian dressing.
Red, Black, and Bleu Salad: Blackened Steak (or Steak Poivre), tomatoes, and blue cheese crumbles tossed with Lettuce.
Grilled Steak Salad: This is something Katie used to make and I doubted it was good, but I was so wrong. She'd caramelize onions and mushrooms and then slice a grilled piece of steak into strips. Then she'd pile steak, mushrooms, and onions on top of leafy lettuce, and blue cheese dressing. It's a terrific little salad with warm vegetables and meats.
Grilled Vegetable Salad: Grill zucchini, tomatoes, red bell peppers, onions, and a good Italian dressing would be excellent with this one. Steak or Chicken grilled and cut into strips to make it a main dish. Add feta cheese and Greek Dressing for a change of pace.
Chef's Salad: A great salad for leftovers and bits of vegetables. Just about anything goes! Ham, Chicken, Steak,
Roasted Chicken, Pear, and Walnut Salad: I used to eat this for lunch nearly every day when I worked. I'd buy a big bag of green leafy salad, a couple of pears, and a rotisserie chicken then I'd make the salad fresh each day. I liked it best with a Raspberry vinaigrette.
Taco Salad: There are so many ways to vary this one. In my early married years, it was popular to mix leafy lettuce, tomatoes, taco-seasoned beef, and Fritos and serve with either Thousand Island or French (the orange store-bought sort).
Another variant: Lettuce, Avocado, Red Onions, taco seasoned meat of choice, and a Lime Vinaigrette or Ranch dressing. Serve in a tortilla bowl or crush chips over the salad.
And a third variation of taco or salsa seasoned chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, red onions, and Ranch Dressing with a crushed corn chip topping.
Oriental Chicken Salad: Coleslaw mix, Chicken, mandarin segments, green onion, chow mein noodles, almond slivers, a Teriyaki or Ginger Bassed Dressing. You might sub in some dry roasted peanuts for the almonds.
Potato Salad and Cold Cut Plate: Back in my newly married days, I used to keep boneless canned hams in the fridge and when we had company show up unexpectedly on a hot day, I would put out a plate of thinly sliced ham, a variety of pickles, a big bowl of potato salad and make tiny hot biscuits. It was one of our favorites and sounds pretty good to me right now! In vintage magazines, I often see a mound of potato salad surrounded by a variety of cold cuts such as bologna, salami, pickle loaf, etc.
These are by no means the only salads you might have. They are just the ones I thought of as I made out my list. Do you have a favorite main dish type salad? Share it with us in the comments.
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3 comments:
What an inspiring list! I'm printing it out for future reference. I love the Ramen Salad and am addicted to it. Our version of taco salad (we call it Mexican Salad which is a travesty really) has doritos, kidney beans, lettuce, tomato, cooked ground beef, cheese and a mix of western or french dressing with thousand island. It's one that my mother-in-law made when my husband was growing up.
Salads are always good, especially in the hot and humid months. All your suggestions sound yummy. One of my go-to salads was the seven layer salad. Taco salad is a favorite around here. We like black and bleu also. The canned chicken from Costco makes an excellent chicken salad.
I'm saving this post for ideas!
You saw the photo of Layla's Cobb salad she made for supper on Monday this last week. She wants to learn to cook this summer, and I started her off with this salad so she could practice using a knife. Then Jessica suggested we have "family salad suppers" once a week this summer. I liked that idea, so I think Mondays will be salad night.
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