It's not like I don't still enjoy it, it's more that the thought of turning on the oven to invite 350 more degrees of scorching heat into my kitchen might cause someone to haul me off to the loony bin.
Since Texas summers tend to last about 6 months longer than those of the rest of the country, I've definitely come to rely on a few go-to recipes that require ZERO cooking, some of which can be made the night before so all I have to do it open the fridge to recieve a lovely blast of cool air and have my dinner greet me like a chilly beacon of hope.
Okay, so this first one I stole from my grandmother, but in all fairness, she probably snagged it from someone else. It's a quick, easy, make-ahead dish using ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
24 Hour
Salad
Ingredients:
- Bac O's (meatless) OR 3/4 pound (raw weight) bacon, cooked then crumbled
- 1 large head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion
- 1/4 c thinly sliced celery
- 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas
- 1 cup mayonnaise, or to taste (I prefer to go easy on this)
- 2 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
- 4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Directions:
Place the lettuce out in a large serving dish or bowl. Trifle dishes work well since this is a really pretty salad!
Layer the onion, celery, water chestnuts and frozen peas (unthawed).
Spread the mayonnaise over the top like you would when frosting a cake. Sprinkle with grated cheese, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle Bac O’s/crumbled bacon over the top, and garnish with tomato wedges, slices of hard-cooked egg, and parsley.
You can always mix this up by using left-over or pre-cooked/packaged shrimp, crab, salmon, chicken, etc. in place of or in addition to the bacon.
Another recipe that I've snagged over the years but it doesn't make it any less delicious. Enjoy with some chips and an ice cold cerveza!
Ceviche
Rinse and dry seafood. Place in a large non-metallic bowl and cover in lime juice. The seafood should be completely submerged. Chill all day or overnight - the seafood should be completely opaque.
Pour off half of the juice and all the remaining ingredients, stirring to mix well.
That's it! You now have a low-fat, high protein, no cook meal that everyone will enjoy.
Another recipe that I've snagged over the years but it doesn't make it any less delicious. Enjoy with some chips and an ice cold cerveza!
Ceviche
- 1 pound of your favorite seafood. (I prefer shrimp, scallops and halibut)
- juice of 8 large limes
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2-4 green onions chopped
- half of a purple onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large jalapeño, seeds removed and diced
- 1-2 avocados, diced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Rinse and dry seafood. Place in a large non-metallic bowl and cover in lime juice. The seafood should be completely submerged. Chill all day or overnight - the seafood should be completely opaque.
Pour off half of the juice and all the remaining ingredients, stirring to mix well.
That's it! You now have a low-fat, high protein, no cook meal that everyone will enjoy.
My son and I came up with this one night while trying to figure out a quick and easy dinner that would use up some extra produce we had sitting in the fridge.
Sprout Sandwich
Ingredients:
- Hummus (or mayo/mustard-whatever you’ve got)
- Tomato
- Sprouts
- Avocado
- Buns (hamburger, hotdog, pita- it all works just fine!)
Spread a
generous schmear of hummus on both sides of the bread, layer with hummus, pile
on sprouts, tomato and avocado.
VIOLA!
Dinner. Is. Done.
Serve with chips and
enjoy the fact that dinner just took you all of 5 minutes to prepare.
Keep in mind that you can ALWAYS change up a recipe to suit your taste.
Be creative and whip up some go-to recipes of your own.
Have a no-cook recipe that you'd like to share? Leave it in the comments below or head on over to the Shine Supper Club and spread the word!