Non-cook, non vegetarian dinners

ladyhawk00

I have a dilemma. Our area recently went on Stage 3 fire restrictions due to drought. This means...no grilling, of any kind. In the summer, I almost exclusively use the grill, because I like it, and because using the oven OR stove (gas) makes the house too unbearably hot (ie 95 degrees - and yes, I have a/c's, but they can't keep up at that point.) Even the microwave is iffy if it has to run for very long. And, I'm not crazy about TV dinners (nor can I afford them.) We look to be in this situation for the majority of the summer, unless my rain dances start working. :frown:

Soooo. I'm trying to come up with more meal ideas for dinners/lunches. A person can only eat so much salad. The requirements:

Little to no cooking
Should have some kind of meat (I'm a meatasaurus)


Thanks in advance!

dayzeerock

I'm not just saying this because I'm vegan, because I do it for me and don't care what othe people eat, but I really don't know if there is any "meat" that can really be eaten without cooking, right?


Maybe....sushi???

timeforachange2011

I know you said the microwave is iffy but... I just bought some delicious mesquite grilled chicken breasts from Sam's club. They can be microwaved in 5 minutes (I think). You could do those over a salad or with some veggies steamed in the microwave. Or, you could slice them up and put the chicken into a wrap with some fresh veggies? Another option, peel and eat shrimp. The precooked ones require no cooking, just thawing in the fridge. Again, you could put them over a salad, or put them in a wrap or just eat them plain! That's all I can think of for now.

skynyrdchick

I live in FL so I know what you mean about it getting hot in the house! I tend to continue using my crockpot quite often in the Summer. Plus to me it's alot easier some days to just put the stuff together and let it go all day ) Hope that helps!

ashlinmarie

You can use deli meats like turkey or chicken breast or you can suffer through the heat for one night and make a full turkey or chicken and then save the left overs and have them cold on salad or sandwich or heat it up in the microwave in about a minute.

NBabi91

You could buy a george forman grill. It cooks meat pretty fast and it doesn't emit that much heat.

It is an indoor grill.

tmarie2715

This may be out of the price range limitation, but they sell cooked, ready cut grilled chicken in deli section. Rotissire chicken from the grocery store would work and is pretty cheap / will feed a lot of people or a few people for several meals.

Use the cooked chicken with 3 minute rice and some raw veggies on the side. Stock, veggies, some dry pasta, some precooked chicken and bam! Soup. Doesn't need to cook very long. Toast some bread in toaster, slice balls of fresh mozarella, sliced tomatoes, basil, precooked or rotissire chicken, basil, italian seasoning. Microwave bacon-- just 2-3 slices per person might work for quick BLTs.

There are all kinds of precooked foods in the deli section, too, so you could mix it up with BBQ pork, grilled steak... I'd watch sodium and too much processed food, though.

chellekoren

okay so this requires a wee bit of cooking on a stove. But if you make a lot, then it is great cold. Some diced onion, diced fresh tomatoes and cilantro or arugula(I prefer the taste of cilantro over arugula, but that is a personal taste thing) minced garlic and red wine vinegar and olive oil. Get your pan nice and hot, throw in the the onion and cook until soft (or if u can stand them crunchy, just heat them up a bit). Add the rest. The olive oil and red wine vinegar are your sauce. The ratio is 2 to 1 oil to vinegar. You only need 2 to 4 tbs of the oil and vinegar to match the ratio. Serve over pasta. The next day it is just as good if not better.

Another thing I like to do: Do you have a foreman grill? If you do, I like to put cheese and sour cream in a tortilla, fold in half and grill until golden. Also, cheese, black beans or cheese, left over shredded chicken. Totally yummy and quick and easy so that you are not slaving over that hot stove.

Another idea: Do you use a crock pot? I like to stew chicken in the crock pot, season however you like. First night serve over rice, next in a quesadilla, third on top of a salad. I usually stew with a jar of salsa for flavor. That one day, my kitchen is hot even from using the crock pot, but it's not as hot as the oven by far.

sister_bear

You can get pre-cooked chicken and steak in the deli section of most grocery stores as well as fake crab and lobster. (I say fake because it's made out of suri and flavored crab/lobster.) I keep some laying around for quick fix meals. They're perfect on salads, melts, pastas, stir fry them with some veggies, or nuke a bag of microwave steamable veggies and toss in some meat for a quick meal. The options are only limited by your imagination.

shells62682

The slowcooker may be your best friend!!!

There are a ton of great recipes. Check out the 365 slowcooker blog for ideas. I just made Turkey Chili in my slow cooker. Add fritos (1 oz) and cheese (.5 oz shredded superfine) and it's a GREAT meal.

I think that we may be near each other... it's hotter than Hades out there.

beth40n2

Set a crock pot out in the garage.

ladyhawk00

Thanks for all the replies so far!

I try to avoid the pre-cooked meat in the deli, as the sodium is atrocious; but I can pick up a little and have some occasionally - not the end of the world. I've avoided them so long, I'd forgotten about them. Thanks to those who suggested them.

The crockpot is a great idea, and one I planned to use - but it still puts out enough heat that I couldn't use it on very hot days. So thank you, Beth on the brilliant idea to put it in the garage!!!! I hadn't thought of that, but it would be easy to do and totally eliminate the heat problem.

Keep 'em coming... I have 3 months worth of meals to think up! :laugh:

christina0089

Slow cookers are obviously great and really any meat cooks in half the time or less if cut into bite size pieces before cooking. Some simple stir frys ( bite size meat and a variety of veggies sauteed in a pan with some olive oil and herbs to taste) it is a quick, yummy, and nutrien filled meal that you can play around with and make so many varieties you will be

Jenscan

Do you happen to have a toaster oven? I cook a lot in mine. Broiled some ahi in it tonight. I'd suggest looking into getting one that's a little larger and cooking in that perhaps?


ETA: Also, a griddle might be an options for some cooking too...

Losingitin2011

My husband convinced me to buy this

http://www.amazon.com/Wolfgang-Puck-WPRGG0010-1800-Watt-Reversible/dp/accessories/B001ANXQQ6

We found it at Costco for $50.

Best investment EVER. I use it all the time, it barely heats up my shoebox apartment! I just made pancakes with it today for the first time and they turned out better than they ever do when I pan cook them.