Summertime Meals that Won't Heat Up the House

If you have spent time cooking in the kitchen, then you probably know how fast cooking a meal can heat up your home in the summertime. If you have an air conditioner, this rise in temperature can make the unit work harder and longer to offset the rise in heat. With the price of electricity on the rise, this can really add to your monthly expense. For those without an air conditioner, the last thing you want to do is add to the heat of your home, especially when temperatures outside reach the 90s and 100s. Choosing cooking methods that won't increase the ambient temperature of your home can be a help in either case.

Here are some summertime meal ideas that won't heat up the house and will help conserve energy. Even better, some of these options will give you great prepper practice!

Outdoor Cooking

One of the best ways to avoid overheating your home is to cook outside. There are many options including outdoor grills, outdoor smokers, camp stoves, outdoor ovens, and even fire pits. These are great options to use to practice your camp cooking and your prepper skills.

Outdoor Barbecue or Grill

You can prepare so many meals with an outdoor grill. This includes, but is in no way limited to:

• Hamburgers
• Marinated Chicken Breasts or Thighs
• Steaks - beef, pork, lamb, fish, cauliflower
• Kebabs
• Foil Pack Meals
• Halloumi - Halloumi cheese has a high melting point and can be grilled. It is a great substitute for meat in a sandwich.

Outdoor Smoker

This is another option with numerous possibilities. You can do the following and more in a smoker:

• Roasts - beef and pork
• Chickens
• Turkeys

Fire Pit

There are many ways to cook over an open fire.

• On a Stick - This is probably the most familiar and a favorite with the kids. Hot dogs, meat strips, Irish soda bread, and s'mores can all be cooked this way. 
• On a Spit - Roast your meat and get an arm workout at the same time!
• Tripod - Hang your cooking pot from a tripod.
• Grill - Set a grill over coals and use it like your barbecue grill.
• Dutch Oven - These can be stacked, using the briquets/coal from the bottom one to heat the one above as well. You can make a multiple course meal with a series of these stacked on each other.

Indoor Cooking

If you are not excited about cooking outside, no need to fear. There are several options for indoor meal prep that use less energy and add minimal or no heat to your home. This includes crockpots, instapots, and refrigerator meals.

Instapot

Instapot meals add minimal heat to your kitchen. They are efficient and self-contained, so very little heat transfers to the ambiance. An added benefit of the instapot is that it is usually more energy efficient than the stovetop or oven - you are heating a much smaller space! We like making hard-boiled eggs in the instapot and turning them into deviled eggs to snack on throughout the day. In addition to being more energy efficient, it requires far less water to make them this way.

Crockpot

Crockpots may add slightly more heat than an instapot and will often take a bit more time, but they are still far superior to operating the stove top or oven in terms of adding  heat to the kitchen. Another bonus is that, like the instapot, it is more energy efficient as well! One of our favorite things to do with the crockpot is to bake our potatoes in it during the day and have a baked potato bar for dinner at night.

Refrigerator/Cold Meals

Meals you serve cold not only help to keep your house cool, but help keep you cool, too. Cold meals can be refreshing when the temperature starts to climb. Refrigerator meals can be ones you have prepared ahead or meals made with no-cook ingredients you pull from the fridge. Here is a small list of refrigerator meals you can enjoy:

• Charcuterie - Meats, Cheeses, Nuts, Olives, Dried Fruit, Crackers, Fresh Fruit, Chocolates - These are just a few options you can add to your charcuterie board. This also gives you the opportunity to show off your artistic display skills!
• Salads - Green, Caesar, Pasta, Potato -  You can add meat to many of these to make it a main dish. Try adding chicken to your Caesar Salad, salami to your pasta salad, and bacon to your potato salad. Chef's Salad and Crab Salad are great options, too, and they come with a protein! 
• Snack Night - Try tortilla chips with a layered taco dip, cowboy caviar, pico de gallo, and/or guacamole. Deviled eggs (eggs can be cooked in the instapot) are another cool dish that can be served with other items to make a complete meal. Check out ideas in the charcuterie section for this option, too.
• Gazpacho - Cold soup may sound odd, but gazpacho is a Spanish favorite. It is cool, filling, and refreshing.
• Sandwiches/Wraps - You can use many items from the refrigerator for these: cold cuts, lettuce, tomatoes, leftover meat, cream cheese, pickles, etc.
• Leftover Night - I know this one is a no-go for those who do not eat leftovers, but if you do, try some of your leftovers cold! Here are just a few items that some people enjoy cold: pizza, meatloaf (turn it into a sandwich!), fried chicken, and casseroles.

We hope this sparks some ideas for making energy efficient meals that don't heat up the home. Happy cooking!