I love almost everything about summer. There are just a few things I don’t like about summer, having a hot house is one of them. I especially hate it when the kitchen gets hot, I really prefer to keep my kitchen cool. Using the oven seems to make my kitchen oh so very hot. Cooking and preparing meals in a hot kitchen can be a deal breaker for me, it makes me want to eat out and get out of that heat. Eating out to avoid a hot kitchen makes no sense; it is expensive and not practical. There are a few things I do that really help keep the kitchen cool and keep me happy.

Use a crockpot
I try to use a crockpot whenever I can. Cooking meat and other things in a crock pot will keep your kitchen much cooler than using the oven. A quick search on the internet will bring up thousands of recipes and tons of great ideas. Yummy food and a great way to keep the kitchen cool.

Use the microwave
Sometimes we forget the microwave is good for more than warming up leftovers and popping popcorn. There are so many things that can be prepared in the microwave. There are lots of tips and recipes online for making many of the usual oven dishes in the microwave. There are even special, and usually inexpensive, dishes made for microwaving more meals that usually require baking.

Cook outside on a grill
This is one of my all-time favorites. It doesn’t take much to convince me to get out the grill. We love to cook meats, vegetables and more on our grill. My husband was just given a pizza stone so we can try cooking pizza on the grill!

Cook outside with a toaster oven
This is a great idea for those things that really do taste better when they are baked. We use a little camp table and put the toaster oven right out on the deck. Works great for so many things and keeps the kitchen cool!

Bake or use the oven at night for the next day
Can you make any part of the meal the night before? Once the house has cooled down it seems so much easier to cook and bake. There are lots of things you can make ahead when you think about it. All of these things will help keep your kitchen cool.  It also makes dinner prep go much faster when part of it is already done, another bonus.

Eat more cold meals
I love this one! Summer naturally seems to bring more salads and sandwiches. Fresh garden veggies, pastas, so many good ideas are on the usual summer menu. There are so many different cool meal options that seem to taste even better in the summer months. Another great way to keep your kitchen cool.

Once you start thinking about the many ways you can keep your kitchen and house cooler by changing your cooking habits, it seems easy and totally doable. It will even be fun!  You’ll find yourself happily eating at home in a cooler house – such a good thing! We love it and it is another great way to pinch your pennies.