Recipes that don’t need a lot of oven/stove time?

hipari
hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
in Recipes
We’ve been riding a heat wave in northern Europe and the heat is unbearable, and I’m DONE standing in front of the stove or using the oven since it does spread a bit of heat to the apartment as well. I eat lunch at work, but have dinners at home. I’ve been eating lots of salads, but could definitely use some other dinner ideas that require minimal heating time?

I have no problems with chopping veggies or other food prep that doesn’t require heated appliances. I do not have access to an outdoor grill, an instant pot or a crock pot (are those the same thing?). I’m intolerant to chickpeas and wheat, rye and barley starches. I’m not doing keto, low carb, paleo or any other ”special diet”, but tend to go gluten free due to the starch issue. I try to keep dinners at 400-600 calories and to include lots of protein but right now I’m more concerned about not melting into a puddle than my macros.

So, what are your best recipe tips for dinners that require either no heating or very minimal heating time?

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    It's cooled down in the UK, but in case we get another heat wave here are some "too hot to cook" ideas:
    Carb: Baked potato in the microwave. Price a potato with a fork and zap around 8 minutes on high, depending on size.
    Protein: Microwave smoked mackerel filets to warm them up. Serve with pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Alternatively in a cast iron frying pan or griddle pan quickly fry any protein that you can eat rare, such a steak, lamb chops or tuna.
    Veg: Salads.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    A lot of the zoodle (zucchini) noodle recipes are minimal cooking time.
    Eggs are fast cooking
    Pasta is quick cooking
    Sandwiches or wraps. Obviously there are unheated sandwiches and wraps but a grilled/toasted sandwich is quick.
    Tomato, cucumber, mushrooms or zucchini stuffed with cheese or spinach mixure or cooked meat. Eat with the vegetables raw or briefly cooked.
    If you can buy already cooked meats or beans you can cut down on cooking time.
    Food cut very small, thin or minced will cook quicker.
    Fish tends to cook quickly.
    Instant oatmeal or farnia
    Rice
    You could cook a larger amount of something once a week and then spend a short time reheating it, using it as an ingredient or eating it cold. Cook earlier in the day or later at night.


    https://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/20-20-superfast-suppers
    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/1947/everyday-cooking/quick-and-easy/
    https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/fast-dinner-recipes-0#20-meals-16
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    Thanks for the tips!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Charcuterie, cheese, fruit, good bread from a bakery. Maybe some cold marinated veggies (artichokes, asparagus, olives, pepperoncini, etc.) or plain raw veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers)


  • 54Thumper
    54Thumper Posts: 3 Member
    We’ve been having heat here too -Pacific Nothwest. I’ve made a large batch of basmati rice and refrigerated what I didn’t use immediately. On the stove top, in a sauce pan I cook up some ground meat enough for my husband and I, add some vegetables, tomato sauce, spices to taste, like cumin, oregano. Once the meat is browned halfway I add the veggies, and the cold rice. By the time the rice is warmed, everything else is done. Takes maybe 15-20 minutes on a medium low temp.
    Also boiled eggs or deviled eggs, potato salad, coleslaw, 7 layer dip, and smoothies are good too. We’ve been having baked oatmeal that I made up ahead and froze. Wish I’d made more, but wasn’t expecting the heat to stay so long.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I admit I am using my appliances. I prepared an entire family pack of chicken wings in my Actifry yesterday. This will be enough for about four dinners for hubby and me. Today I am preparing a large pork roast in my slow cooker. Sure, it's cooking for a day but the cold pork slices will feed us for days.

    TL;DR prepare your meats all at once and have them cold the rest of the week.
  • 54Thumper
    54Thumper Posts: 3 Member
    I just remembered puddings made from chia seeds, avocados, and hemp are good. Raw recipes like raw apple pie are favorites with us. It’s basically an apple, a few nuts with or without spices ground in the food processor (chopping by hand is great too). I use one apple, about 7-10 walnuts and apple pie spices per person. Another help are popsicles made from fat bomb recipes. They cool you down while filling you up. If you use raw coconut water it adds back electrolytes too.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    It's going to get hot again in the UK and I stumbled on this recipe in the weekend paper. If I do the potatoes in the air fryer that will generate no heat because the machine is so well insulated. If you don't have an air fryer zap the potatoes for a few minutes in the microwave, but remember to prick each one with a fork to let steam escape, as they can otherwise explode. Going to try this when it gets warm again.
    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/21/thomasina-miers-recipe-for-green-bean-and-new-potato-tonnato-salad

    Another no heat meal is crudites and store bought flat breads, and dips such as hummous, tarama salata and tzaziki. If you can stand to boil carrots until soft this is a great moroccan carrot dip
    https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fiery-carrot-dip
    Hummous made from tinned chickpeas and other bean dips require no heat. This is a favourite cheesey bean dip of mine
    https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/simple-white-bean-crostini
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    Thanks guys! I really like the flatbread and hummus idea, too bad those are literally the two things I can’t eat. I’ve been eating loads of fruit, and going back to work after my vacation means I get a proper warm meal prepared by someone else daily.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    hipari wrote: »
    Thanks guys! I really like the flatbread and hummus idea, too bad those are literally the two things I can’t eat. I’ve been eating loads of fruit, and going back to work after my vacation means I get a proper warm meal prepared by someone else daily.

    Sorry I forgot about the wheat and chickpea thing. Rice crackers, or Vietnamese rice paper rolls softened in a bowl of water at the table and dips such as smoked mackarel pate, tzaziki, taramasalata, guacamole with crudites instead of flatbreads and hummous.

    Actually Vietnamese summer rolls are a good option too. We normally let everyone at the table roll their own. We provide a half and half mixture of grated carrot and cooked bean noodle, herbs such as basil, coriander, mint, some shredded lettuce, poached prawns and a dipping sauce. Consider a peanut based satay sauce if you need this meal to be more filling and higher in fat.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/aug/07/how-to-make-perfect-vietnamese-summer-rolls
  • mjrc2
    mjrc2 Posts: 121 Member
    This thread is great. I am experiencing a heat wave here too! I have been cooking a big batch of quinoa and hard boiled eggs at the beginning of the week and buying pre-seasoned tofu and just zapping things in the microwave or cold massaged kale salads with quinoa...and getting real bored. Salad fatigue! I'm thinking a cold tuna and pea salad. maybe a rice noodle salad.
    acpgee wrote: »
    hipari wrote: »

    Actually Vietnamese summer rolls are a good option too. We normally let everyone at the table roll their own. We provide a half and half mixture of grated carrot and cooked bean noodle, herbs such as basil, coriander, mint, some shredded lettuce, poached prawns and a dipping sauce. Consider a peanut based satay sauce if you need this meal to be more filling and higher in fat.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/aug/07/how-to-make-perfect-vietnamese-summer-rolls
    Question @acpgee --How well do the Vietnamese summer rolls hold up if I roll a bunch at once for work meals? Do they get yucky if made ahead of time?
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    mjrc2 wrote: »
    Question @acpgee --How well do the Vietnamese summer rolls hold up if I roll a bunch at once for work meals? Do they get yucky if made ahead of time?

    Unfortunately the Vietnamese summer rolls don't hold up very well made in advance. Takeaway Vietnamese places wrap them individually in clingfilm which i guess would work if you need to make them one or two days ahead for taking to lunch. Don't try to pack them together in a sandwich box without wrapping them up separately because they will all stick together. Bring the dipping sauce in a separate container.

    The weather is heating up again here and we made Salade Nicoise tonight using Alastair Little's recipe. Pretty similar to this one. The only cooking involved is searing a tuna steak on a grill pan, but you could use canned tuna if you can't stand the thought of that. I blanche vegetables and potatoes in the microwave.

    https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-tuna-salade-nicoise-108337



  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    Great ideas, needed this!!!!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,962 Member
    I made Larb Gai, which is good heatwave food. I used the recipe in David Thompson's cookbook which is pretty much this one.
    http://www.onedishcloser.com/blog/2011/2/7/larbilicious.html
    Stove time is three minutes of simmering minced chicken and garlic in a few tablespoons of stock.
    1zq6w2bmr7i5.jpeg


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