August 26, 2013

It's going to be really, really hot!!!

I just heard on the news that here in Iowa today the temperature will be hovering around 100 degrees.  The weather forecast for the entire week will be the same each day.  Hot.  That means the heat index will make it feel hotter.  This is not the time to scrimp on air conditioning.  I am keeping the window air conditioners set at 68 degrees in order to keep our downstairs nice and comfortable.  The one thing I can't stand is to be hot.  I can live with being cold as I can always add a sweater and layer my clothes to be warmer.

The challenge in August when it is this hot is to try to figure out what to serve for supper. By now we have done a lot of grilling so it isn't quite the novelty as it was at the beginning of the summer and it is too hot to stand outside over an even hotter grill.  It is on days like this that I pull out the electric roaster that I use to cook the turkey at Thanksgiving and I set it up in the basement.  I use it as a portable oven.

Tonight I will be cooking my semi-famous turkey casserole in it.  Here is the link to the recipe. Back in June I roasted a turkey that I had leftover from Christmas and I carefully cut the breast pieces for sandwiches or to use as the main dish for dinner sometime.  The rest of the meat was cut into small pieces for soup or casseroles and the carcass was boiled down for broth.  All the meat and broth was frozen for later use such as a day like today.

I will put the casserole together in a square casserole dish and place it in the roaster to bake.   The best part of this is that the heat from baking this casserole does not affect the temperature in my kitchen as it cooks in the basement and the heat stays there.  Also it takes less energy to heat the roaster and it preheats in no time at all.  To complete our dinner meal, I will serve watermelon and a tossed salad.

I know some people will think who wants to eat something hot on a hot day, but these are also the same people who will go to an air conditioned restaurant for a hot meal or stand in the hot sun grilling some meat.

As I write this post, Ryan is taking his nap.  He spent the morning at his other grandpa's house as I needed some extra rest as I have a cold.  While he is napping I may take a nap myself or go through some of my sewing patterns so I can plan my next project.  I'm already thinking ahead to Christmas and there are several gifts I want to make.  I don't want to wait until November or December to work on these projects.  Also, there are a few tops that I would like to sew for myself.

I better start getting more sleep at night as when Ryan goes down for a nap, it will be sewing and craft time for Grandma.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very smart about using the roaster downstairs. I never know what to make for dinner when it's so hot (it is 97 here today in So. Calif.) and I don't want to warm up the kitchen using the stove. Like you, I also prefer cool weather where I can just bundle up. Hope you get well soon! By the way, love the larger font!