Summer Recipes?

Well, we had a heat wave this weekend, and it looks like it has broken, finally, today. It is hard to think about how hot it is here and then think of other parts of the country still under snow!

But it has me thinking. I had said that I was going to work this winter to compile a list of recipes for hot days. Either dishes served cold, salads, or things that could be made in the slow cooker, but ideally things that could be served cold. This way I would not be scrambling at the last minute or serving sandwiches with veggies, again.

While we do love to barbecue, in a true heatwave here, it is actually too hot to barbecue, shocking I know!

So on to my mini list, such as it is:

We love pasta salad! But you can only eat so much! (My recipe is literally cook pasta, toss with Italian salad dressing or vinaigrette of your choice while hot, toss in assortment of veggies and maybe some chicken, cool and serve)


Another one of my favorites is the Cold Plate. You just assemble on the plate:

• Salads of your choice (potato, pasta, coleslaw, whatever)
• Cold meat (with appropriate cold sauce if need be) Cold fried chicken is always good and most people don't seem to think of that!
• Cold beans (I still cannot eat "pork and beans" hot! You can also make beans with chunks of wieners inside, affectionately known as beanie weanies.)
• Assorted fruit cut up, or veggies are great too!
  

That is it!

As you can tell these two recipes are highly methodical! And you can probably also tell that I need help in this area to get more ideas!

So, could you help a girl out? What cold meals do you love? (Please include the recipes or links if possible!) Do you have a go-to list like this or is it just me struggling with Southern California summer heat?