Cooking Baking Alternatives in Summer Heat (house, business, costs)

[debrr]

I like to make frozen pizzas and small portions of food in the oven, but in the heat of the summer I can't take it. Does anyone have any ideas other than the oven or microwave, that would not have to built in, to make snacks, pizzas, chicken, pork chops, etc? I am wondering if a convection microwave or toaster oven or what would be multi-functional and my best solution? Thanks!

[chicagocarol]

My son swears by his toaster oven (but get one that has non-stick on the inside for easy clean-up) He also uses a slow cooker and an electric frying pan.

[gerrish150]

I like the george foreman grill, it's great for lunch. Burgers, chicken breast and stuff like that. We also grill Pizza on the regular grill. (not frozen pizza)

[Magnum Mike]

I don't care how hot it gets outside, grilling on natural mesquite, which is plentiful in the Arizona desert, is the only way to cook those meals that take hours to cook in the oven. It tastes much better, and it keeps the house cool.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I don't care how hot it gets outside, grilling on natural mesquite, which is plentiful in the Arizona desert, is the only way to cook those meals that take hours to cook in the oven. It tastes much better, and it keeps the house cool.

Yes. I frequently grill things while its still cool on summer mornings them put em in the fridge for later. We also have a microconvection and that heats up the house a whole lot less than the main oven.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I don't care how hot it gets outside, grilling on natural mesquite, which is plentiful in the Arizona desert, is the only way to cook those meals that take hours to cook in the oven. It tastes much better, and it keeps the house cool.

Great idea and suggestion, Mike

As for Frozen Pizzas . . . place them on a wrought iron patio table for about an hour or so in the afternoon. ! ! ! !

[AngelfaceAZ]

I swear by my crockpot and I have a whole index in my recipe box just for our favorite slow cooker recipes. My favorite and easiest is to season a 3-4 lb fryer chicken and throw it into the crock pot on low for about 9 hours. it falls apart, is great for dinner and the left overs make GREAT chicken salad for sanwiches.

The other recipe I like is where I buy a bag of frozen chicken bone in leg quarters and put as many of them into my crock pot as I can. I cook them on low for about 9 hours, drain, skin and bone them then throw them back into the crock pot with my favorite bbq sauce for bbq chix on buns

[joninaz]

- A convection toaster oven is good for many things. Think small toaster oven but with convection heating so things cook much quicker. For smaller meals, it's a much better option than heating the oven.

- I grill a lot in the summer. I've got a coal grill for when one wants to do a traditional BBQ. But there's a gas grill for the quick and easy meals. BBQ fans will spend months debating which is best, but why not have both? It only costs a bit more to have both options. I also have a smoker, which puts me into a thrid category of debate. My take: sometimes you want to cook things for a day, sometimes for a few hours, and sometimes for a few minutes. There's room for each.

- Solar ovens are cool. Look into them. We've got the sun. I still need to learn more, but an see myself getting a cooker in the coming months.

[mistyriverranch]

We use a Sun Oven to bake bread, roast meat, etc. We just set it out in the sun and adjust the angles and it heats up to 350-375 degreed F in no time here in Idaho. I can only imagine how fast it would heat up in AZ sunshine.
It's amazing and for some reason, bakes better bread than my regular oven.
Solar Cooking, Solar Ovens - Sun Ovens International as seen on HGTV, CNN, and in Business 2.0