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Help me have a no-cooking month

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purplerain's picture
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After this weekend I don't want to cook again until Fall! These hot days just drain the life out of me and I don't like heating up the kitchen. I need some new sandwich and light meal ideas please. I'm challenging myself after this weekend to not turn the stove on again for a month. Food needs to be cold, out the cupboards or at most cooked in the microwave.
 
The family are horrified. LOL!!
 
I don't use my microwave enough anyway. Now's as good a time as any to figure out if it does more than reheat two hour old cups of coffee I pour and forget.

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cheapncheerful's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

I have two words. Frito Pie. Yum! :)

This calls for a crockpot full of chili. Ignore that! Buy canned and heat it in the microwave. No washing up either apart from that one bowl and cutlery. That's a good one for the odd cooler evening.

Directions: Open a 1.75-ounce bag of Fritos corn chips. Into the bag, pour 1/2 cup chili, 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar, 1 tablespoon chopped onion, and a couple of jalapeño slices. Eat it out of the bag.

More versions and ways to make it -
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/01/frito-pie-recipe.html
 

Zoey's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

I wouldn't mind doing that as well, purplerain.
 
Frito Pie is so good! If you have a food thermos flask you can take the chili on picnics. I liked this tuna recipe I found today. It would go far for sandwiches and is super cheap.
 

Robin's Frugal Tuna

4-pound can of tuna packed in water, available at Sam's club or BJ's Warehouse

2½ cups mayonnaise

2 cups Italian flavor bread crumbs

1 small onion, finely minced

Squeeze as much water out of the tuna as possible. If you have time, you can line a colander with coffee filters, dump in the tuna and let it drain in the sink for an hour; otherwise just press hard on the lid in the opened can.

Toss the tuna with the onion and the bread crumbs. Add the mayonnaise and fold gently with a spatula, scraping all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Makes at least 16 sandwiches.

Serves 16. Cost per serving: 60 cents.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090701/LIVING...



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Donna's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

When the kids were in baseball,the parks sold these "frito pies" but called them "walking tacos"! They were big hits at the concession stand with the kids.

frazzledmom's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

I have a better solution, purplerain. Make your husband cook or take you out to eat all month. ;)

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Kay
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

Donna wrote:

When the kids were in baseball,the parks sold these "frito pies" but called them "walking tacos"! They were big hits at the concession stand with the kids.

LOL, that's what you call a clever marketing ploy. That's a much more appealing name. I'm going to try that! :)



The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash. ~Author Unknown

Zoey's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

frazzledmom wrote:

I have a better solution, purplerain. Make your husband cook or take you out to eat all month. ;)

LOL, genius!



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purplerain's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

Pigs will fly before that happens LOL. It's been going well. Thank you for the suggestions.
 
The frito pie was tastier than I thought it was going to be and the breadcrumbs in the tuna is a keeper. What I'm finding is that I need to keep things simple. Bagels with cream cheese are back in vogue in my kitchen. I figured using the toaster wasn't cooking either. :)

cheapncheerful's picture
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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

purplerain wrote:

Bagels with cream cheese are back in vogue in my kitchen. I figured using the toaster wasn't cooking either. :)

You can make mini pizzas with bagels. Spread spaghetti sauce on them, sprinkle cheese on top and add toppings. Pepperoni, cooked ham, diced peppers and black olives are good. 30 seconds in the microwave and you're done.

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Re: Help me have a no-cooking month

cheapncheerful wrote:

purplerain wrote:

Bagels with cream cheese are back in vogue in my kitchen. I figured using the toaster wasn't cooking either. :)

You can make mini pizzas with bagels. Spread spaghetti sauce on them, sprinkle cheese on top and add toppings. Pepperoni, cooked ham, diced peppers and black olives are good. 30 seconds in the microwave and you're done.

Onion bagels are my favorite at the moment. That would be delicious made with them. You could probably make up some extras and freeze them too if you did them individually to stop them sticking together.
 
Avoid the blueberry for this recipe, purplerain. LOL. :D



Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.
- Samuel Johnson