Summer is coming

as the nights grow longer the weather here in Florida gets warmer and warmer.

The humidity is on the rise and it is very apparent that summer is coming.

I find myself wanting to be in the kitchen (or in the house for that matter) less and less.

We have been enjoying the longer nights and warm weather with trips to the park with family and porch picnics while we play in the water.

The girls LOVE to play in the water hose.

Watering the grass and flowers is really a bi-product of the entertainment that the water hose provides.

Sidewalk chalk and bubbles come in a close second, but it is the water they really crave.

We have been happily indulging them in a little free water play each evening.

The girls laugh and giggle and run back and forth with smiles a mile wide.

It is pure childhood fun and parental joy each evening on our front porch.

The reason I started to write this post was more about meal planning then about the simple pleasures of playing in the water hose.

as I said , I find myself not wanting to spend the time in the kitchen to prepare meals each evening,

Nor do I want to heat up the house by using the oven to cook said meal.

That got me thinking about summer time meals that would be

1. Quick to prepare (with very little oven time)

2. Yummy to eat

3.Healthy or at least pseudo healthy (not fast food)

Once I started to think about this I knew I needed a pad and a pen to jot down some ideas.

I immediately sat down a wrote a list of 31 meals that fit the three requirements above.

Some require kitchen time but I tried to minimize that as much as I could and will group things to avoid using my oven as much as possible.

We do lots of grilling during the simmer as well as using the crock pot, griddle and toaster oven as much as we can.

When I do have to use the oven I plan to cook most the oven stuff all at once and then freezing it or use it that same week.

Here are my ideas, I would love to hear your ideas for summer meals.

1.Pasta salad with grilled chicken (stove and grill)

2.Grilled pizza with roasted veggies (grill)

3.Burgers (lets face it summer isn't summer without burgers) (grill)

4.Regular old Tacos (stove)

5.BLT with home made potato salad (stove)

6.Cheese plate (no cooking required (NCR))

7.Shish Kabobs with Pineapple an roasted red pepper rice (grill)

8.Chicken gyros with Greek salad (grill)

9.Grilled Chicken Caesar salad (grill)

10.Spinach and Artichoke frittata with Orzo salad (stove and oven)

11. Any kind of Quiche (oven) with a salad

12.Cheese and Chicken quesadillas with home made salsa and Guacamole (stove)

13. BBQ Chicken (grill) with CRASH POTATOES (worth heating up the whole house in the dog days of summer for) (notice the big red bold letters that is to draw your attention to these potatoes you MUST try them) DELISH :)

14.Chicken tacos (crock pot) I have witnesses that will attest that these Chicken tacos are no ordinary Chicken Tacos. They are something special and will leave you wanting more...

15.Pulled pork (crock pot) with Asian slaw.

16. Italian Roast Beef sandwiches (crock pot)

17.Roasted veggie panini (griddle)

18. Breakfast for dinner (something we love any time of year. Banana and blueberry sour cream pancakes are healthy right?) (griddle)

19.Killer Club Sandwiches and fruit salad (stove)

20.Grilled Mojito Chicken with yellow rice. (grill and stove)

21.Spaghetti and meatballs (stove) and salad

22.Meatball subs and salad (stove)

23.Mojo Pork roast with grilled veggies and yellow rice

24.Dessert for dinner (just because it is summer and hey it is fun) (NCR)

25.Nachos (Oven and stove)

26.Lemon Chicken roasted veggie Risotto (grill and stove)

27.Antipasto Salad and crusty bread (NCR)

28Caprese Salad with Crusty bread (NCR)

29.Ravioli with salad and crusty bread (stove)

30. Fried Chicken (deep fryer outside) just because we have always wanted to try and make it ourselves.

31.Hot dogs and smores over a campfire.

So there it is the start of our summer meal list. Not all are healthy but all will be yummy and all will take little to know heating of the oven and very little time to actually cook.

so what are you ideas i need more summer is longer the 31 days here in Florida....