Too Hot to Cook

For the last week, the weather has been over 107 degrees every day, except for last Tuesday...ah, Tuesday! Yes, it was a nice chilly 104 that day...

Anyway, the past 3 and the next 6 days are forecasted to be over 110 degrees. It's just plain Too Hot to Cook.

I rebelled last week and refused to turn the oven on to cook dinner. Here's what I did:

Main Course: Hot Day Salad. (I named it that.) Recipe from my Aunt Jan.

Dressing:
3/4 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup light mayo
3 Tbs. Honey
2 Tbs. lemon or lime juice

This dressing makes a lot, so for a family of 5, I would halve the recipe for dressing. Unless you have to go to a party this month and bring a salad. Then it's perfect.

Then, all you do is add:

Chicken, Diced. Hello, Costco canned chicken! Nice to see you on this warm day!
Grapes
Pineapple (I used canned.)

You can serve this plain, or spoon it into wheat pita pockets, which is what we did. So cool and delicious!

Next, A Side Dish: Green Pepper Tomato Salad

I found this recipe a couple weeks ago when I was browsing allrecipes.com for ideas of what to do with all our green peppers growing in our garden. This one is a winner. A winner, winner, cold chicken dinner.

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped (um, what's wrong with the seeds? I kept 'em in. Waste of time taking them out!)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, thinly sliced (I used that the first time I made it, the next time I used cucumber, because we also have an overabundance of those in the garden too.)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (we are growing green onions, so that's what I used. It was GOOD.)

Here's the dressing:
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

I felt my internal temperature drop just by eating that fresh salad. Yummy.

Dessert: No Bake Cookies. Recipe from Sunny Doller

I'd never made them before! Can you believe it? They're so delicious and easy. And all that oatmeal takes a twinge of the guilt away.

Put these ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil for one minute. One minute, I swear, that's all the heat you'll have to endure!

2 cups Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup milk
Pinch Salt

Then add:
3 cups Quick Oats
1/2 cup Peanut Butter and
1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix Well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool.

There was no way our cookies were going to get cool enough without sticking them in the fridge or freezer. So that's what we did. Cold, Cold, Cold!

And if you're really, really hot, and you simply can't bear to turn the stove on either, you can make this dessert: (This was Eli's birthday cake this year.)

Ice Cream Cake. Recipe from Tasha Busby.

24 Ice Cream Sandwiches. Yes, I'm serious. 24. You'll need them all. Go get them.
2 Caramel ice cream syrup bottles. 2.
1 (8-oz.) ctn whipped topping, thawed.
6 Heath candy bars, crushed. 6, Adam, not 3. I saw you trying to skimp on the Heath bars last Saturday! Saving some for later??

Okay, now comes the hard part. Unwrap all the ice cream sandwiches. Luckily, I had Ivy with me to help on this, and she is an expert. You might need to borrow a three-year-old for this if you don't already have one at home.

Then, layer the sandwiches in a 9 x 13 pan. This should be about 12 sandwiches. If there's a half sandwich left over, I won't tell anyone if you give it to the three-year-old.

Next, pour the entire bottle of caramel over the ice cream sandwiches. Scoop out every drop, you'll be glad you did later.

Then, the next 12 ice cream sandwiches come in this layer. Then, the 2nd bottle of Caramel.

Next layer, cool whip. Spread it on.

Finally, after you've made sure your husband has crushed ALL SIX of the Heath Bars, you can spread that on the top.

Finally, cover with foil and freeze!

(We added the Kit-Kats for convenience at the party)


Did you see anywhere where a stove, microwave, or (perish the thought) an OVEN was mentioned? Yeah, me neither.

I share because I love.
Go forth and feed your families.