Heavens I hate cooking in hot, hot summertime. I just cooked up six pounds of ground beef

[hlthe2b]

and packaged in airtight 1 pound or 2 pound containers to freeze and use over the next couple of months. I will make taco mix to use for salads, spaghetti sauce, maybe some chili or sloppy joes...

So what are your hot hot hot summer eating/cooking tips beyond salads and smoothies?

[MontanaMama]

1. I grill a lot.

Meats, seafood, veggies and tofu...lots of main dish salads. They can be really hardy and satisfying. We eat a lot of sandwiches too...I don’t like cold meat sandwiches so they need to be grilled or heated....which I also do on the bbq. We recently upgraded our barbecue...our old one was a 24 year old Weber. We got a Weber this time too but with the side burner and then hooked it up to the natural gas on the house. I love not having to worry about propane.

[hlthe2b]

2. I should grill more. I've gotten out of the habit after being freaked out by a tv piece

on an exploding grill--don't ask. I'm sure it was user error, but they made it like the "shark" story of the summer.

[MontanaMama]

5. I should take your suggestion and

cook up a bunch of ground meat...it would be SUCH a time saver. When the weather cools, I like to make a crap ton of meatballs and freeze them in meal size portions for Swedish meatballs or whatever...l hate making them so making a bunch of them at once makes sense.

[hlthe2b]

7. I like to buy 90% lean ground beef, but for it to be reasonably priced, that means buying quantiy

at Costco (or Sam's I guess). So, I have to "pre-plan"...LOL

Still, I just can't make myself pay Safeway or King Sooper's (Kroger) prices, so it is worth it.

[Major Nikon]

22. Lean ground beef is almost never worth it unless you have a specific need for it

90% lean ground beef is usually sold at about a 25-50% premium. The reason is because it comes from primal cuts which tend to be more expensive as opposed to say chuck, which is 80% lean and generally cheaper than things like sirloin which is 90% lean.

When you cook it, most of the fat renders away regardless. The difference is chuck has more collagen (connective tissue) which transforms into gelatin which is tasty stuff. When you grind meat, the collagen transforms into gelatin much quicker when it is cooked. So chuck actually has more flavor than sirloin. The reason why sirloin is more expensive is because unlike chuck it is a tender cut (less connective tissue) and can be cooked quickly as a steak yet still be tender enough to easily chew. So if the choice is between sirloin or chuck for a steak, go for sirloin. If it's hamburger you want, chuck is the better choice for just about all applications.

[lapfog_1]

3. slow cooker, set outside

green chili pork.. for burritos or by itself with rice and a nice salad.

I cook enough to have it for at least 3 or 4 nights as leftovers

[hlthe2b]

4. That's a good suggestion.... yumm

[LuvLoogie]

6. We like the rotisserie chickens at the grocery store

5.99 to 6.99

Totally worth it. You can shred one chicken off the bone and make to tinga or pick up some tika masala sauce at Aldi. It's not bad.

Thin-sliced meat cooks fast in a skillet, pounded chicken breast, thin rib eye steaks. You wouldn't heat up your kitchen that much.

Guacamole, cheese.

[hlthe2b]

9. another good thought...

[trof]

11. $4.99 yesterday at Sam's.

We'll (2 of us) get 3 meals out of it and then maybe chicken soup.
Winner, winner; chicken dinner.

[MontanaMama]

8. I almost forgot the instant pot!

Baby back ribs only take a half hour in that thing...finished on the grill with any kind of sauce you like. They’re wonderful. I like an Asian inspired glaze and the guys in my family like any kind of bbq sauce. Pulled pork in the instant pot is excellent too and you wouldn’t need to use an exploding grill.

[hlthe2b]

10. My instant pot is almost always in use making yogurt... but that is a thought...

[trof]

14. LOve our instant pot. 40 minutes from dried beans to creamy good.

[MontanaMama]

16. I have never cooked beans in my IP.

How do you do yours?

[trof]

17. Put in dried beans and an appropriate amount of water.

Whatever seasonings you like.
I set ours for 40 min. pressure and that does it.
No soaking, parboiling, etc.

Makes great chili too.
Just brown the meat first and then throw it all in there.
Stew meat comes out super tender.

[Adsos Letter]

12. No tips, but...

No tips, but I can recall my mom canning fruits and veggies in the summer in a hot kitchen with no air conditioning.

Good times.

[hlthe2b]

13. Yup... My mom never wimped out (unlike me) either! LOL

[IADEMO2004]

15. Ceiling fans, minimum clothing, grill outside, hammock.

Ground source heat pump air conditioning for the high 90's. Banks heat in the ground for winter plus scrubs some heat to water heater.

[flotsam]

18. Oven does double duty

It's just me in the house and sometimes the guy I rent a room to. The other day was 3 large chicken breasts in pan one and ten Italian sausage in pan two. That's enough meat for at least eight to ten meals and takes less than an hour....400 degrees sausage comes out in 20 minutes and breasts about 50 minutes. Both freeze ok...

[dweller]

19. I bring home 1/2 a rotisserie chicken

from work once a week, I could bring 1 home every nite but anyway

I turn it into chicken salad
and I make a batch of pimento cheese also ...

my lunch everyday is those 2 spread on crackers, sometimes sub smoked salmon
with pim cheese ... I never tire of them 😁
if I cook at all at nite it's quick stir fry or simple pasta or even ramen
or soup

breakfast is a smoothie and coffee ... no heat but the Java

✌🏼️

[dem in texas]

20. made Tacos

Used pot roast with potatoes and carrots left from Sunday dinner. Chopped up the meat, carrots and potatoes, browned in the skillet with a little chopped onion and garlic, added a small can of green chilies. This was my filling for the tacos. Shredded lettuce with chopped tomato, plus avocado slices. Grated some cheese for the old boy plus Paces picante to finish them off. Used La Tiara brand mini tacos for the first time, so good, thinner than other brands, will use them again.

[TEB]

21. That's a lot oh my