Stay Cool Recipes

With the heat coming in full force now, and the fact that we don't have our window air conditioner unit installed yet, I'm doing everything I can to keep it cool in our house. Which includes finding different recipes that require little to no oven or stovetop time. One thing I've brainstormed is trying to mix up batters throughout the day and keeping them in the fridge and then baking them at night or first thing in the morning when it's cooler. I made muffins this morning and they were done by 7:30 am and I also mixed up a chicken enchilada casserole for the crockpot before 9 am. The house stayed under 80 degrees all day! Plus, all my baking and cooking was done, so I didn't have to think about making food the rest of the day! This week I've made 3 great recipes with minimal heat output. I thought I'd share them with you because I think they will be repeated in our house frequently this summer!

We started out the week with Chicken Salad! Not something we had often growing up. I really like it now. And even better, Zeke wolfed it down as well! Probably because it was covered in white sauce and loaded with grapes and chicken. But man, we all really liked it.

On Monday night, I made the sauce and marinaded the meat for Greek Pitas! Just after putting that together, I knew we were going to like it! I got the recipe from the Taste of Home cookbook. When we sat down to eat it, it reminded us of a restaurant we really liked in Kansas City, Jerusalem Cafe. We haven't found a Middle Eastern place here yet, so this was greatly welcomed!

Greek Pitas
1 cup (8 oz.) plain yogurt
1 cup diced, peeled cucumber
1 t. dill weed
1/4 t. seasoned salt
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried thyme
1 1/4 lbs. lean boneless pork, thinly sliced
6 pita breads (6 inches), halved and warmed
1 med. tomato, chopped
2 T. chopped onion

1) In a sm. bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill and seasoned salt; cover and refrigerate for 6 hrs. or overnight.
2) In a lg. resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano, and thyme; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 6 hrs. or overnight, turning occasionally.
3) Drain and discard marinade. In a skillet, stir-fry pork for about 4 min. or until no longer pink. Stuff into pita halves; top with cucumber sauce, tomato and onion. Yield: 6 servings

Then on Wednesday night we made Apricot Shrimp Skewers from Pioneer Woman's 2nd cookbook. Simple and only 6 ingredients!
4 fresh jalapenos (I only used 2)
1/2 c. apricot preserves
4 apricots, pitted
1 red onion, halved and peeled
1 lb. lg. shrimp, peeled and deveined
Chopped fresh cilantro to taste

Begin by roasting jalapenos over an open burner or grill (or under the broiler in your oven). Keep them on the fire until the skin is totally black, then pop them into a plastic storage bag and seal them inside. While the jalapenos are steaming, pour the preserves into a bowl. Add 1/2 c. water and whisk it together to thin. Remove the jalapenos from the bag and use a knife to scrape off the blackened skin. Chop the roasted jalapenos, discarding most of the seeds and inner membranes. Stir the chopped jalapenos into the glaze. Set the glaze aside while you assemble the skewers. Slice the apricots into 6 wedges then cut the wedges in half. Cut the red onion into chunks. Then rinse the shrimp under cool water. Thread the shrimp through the tail and top to keep it in place. Then build the skewers. Double up the apricot chunks so you get a good taste of them. Grill the skewers over med. heat. Divide the glaze in half in 2 bowls. Turn the skewers over, then brush the jalapeno glaze from one of the bowls. Continue grilling until the shrimp are opaque and the apricots have nice grill marks. Remove them to a clean plate. Use the fresh unused batch of glaze (and a clean brush) to brush on more glaze at the end. Sprinkle on cilantro and serve immediately. Serve with rice or pasta. (I made pasta.)

I saw these skewers posted the other day on Mel's Kitchen Cafe and I want to try them pronto!

Two years ago I posted some no bake desserts. I actually forgot about some of them, so think I might try them this summer. Or these! I know there will be more, but I wanted to share these with you as we head into the heat of summer.

To life... full of being smart and staying cool in the kitchen!