Spotlight on Summer: Won't Heat up the Kitchen

The last two weeks, I've shared recipes that were cool and creamy, picnic fare and quick cooking.  For the series finale, I'm sharing recipes that won't heat up the kitchen.  Click the words in bold to go to the page with the recipe.

Grilled Peppered Steak:  This is my favorite way to cook steak and the only recipe I have that's cooked on the grill.  The steak is seasoned with a dry rub before grilling.  The dry rub infuses the meat with flavor which intensifies during cooking.      

Barbecue Chicken:  This recipe takes five hours to cook, but it won't heat up the kitchen. The secret is to cook the chicken and barbecue sauce in the crock-pot.

Chicken a la King:  This crock-pot version takes longer to cook, but it's still easier than the traditional recipe.  The chicken and peas don't have to be cooked; the onion, celery and green pepper don't have to be sauteed; the sauce doesn't have to be cooked and thickened.  If you want to serve it with rice, you'll need to cook it separately, but that doesn't take long and won't heat up the kitchen.

French Dip Sandwiches:  This crock-pot recipe takes all day to cook, but it's worth the wait!  An advantage to crock-pot cooking is you can use cheaper cuts of meat; they'll get tender during the cooking process.

Coleslaw:  Coleslaw is a great warm weather side since it's served cold.  If you want to save time, forget about grating the cabbage and use a package of coleslaw mix instead.

Pickled Beets:  This recipe only uses three ingredients and, since it starts with a can of sliced beets, you don't have to cook or peel beets.  You do have to turn on the stove, but just long enough to dissolve sugar in the vinegar.  The beets are a great summer dish because they're served cold straight from the fridge.

Corn-on-the-Cob:  There's no vegetable I look forward to in the summer more than corn!  My mom always cooked fresh corn in a pot of boiling water, but I cook it in the microwave.  Not only is it quicker, the corn retains more flavor than when boiled in a pot of water.  

Microwave Brownies:  These brownies are great when you want something sweet, but don't want to heat up or spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  The brownies can be cooked and cooled in less time than it takes to make something from a mix!

© Margaret's Morsels

Some Assembly Required

We're not big sandwich eaters.  Most of the sandwiches we eat are made with things we have on hand -- peanut butter, bologna, egg salad -- that can easily be put between two slices of bread.  Occasionally we'll fix a grilled cheese sandwich, but that's the extent of our sandwich making, except for one other sandwich.  We love French Dip Sandwiches so I make them every couple of months.

French Dip, as it's usually called, is a hot roast beef sandwich served on French or hoagie rolls with the au jus -- the unthickened natural juices from the cooked meat -- served in a bowl on the side.  The recipe I'm sharing takes time to prepare, but there's very little work involved since it's cooked in a crock-pot.

I always cook roast in a crock-pot so I opt for an English roast which is a tough, but very flavorful, cut of meat.  Inexpensive tougher cuts of meat are wonderful cooked in a crock-pot because the long cooking time makes them tender.  An English roast needs to be cooked in liquid so it's ideal for this recipe.

Although the recipe calls for all visible fat to be removed from the roast, I leave a little bit for flavor.  The roast -- it doesn't have to be browned or coated with flour -- goes in the crock-pot.  The remaining ingredients are combined and poured over the roast.  One ingredient, rosemary, needs to be crushed before being added to allow the flavor to be released. Rosemary is too hard for me to crush with my hands.  I don't have a mortar and pestle so I put the rosemary on a cutting board and crush it with the bottom of a measuring cup.  Add water to the crock-pot, put on the lid and turn the crock-pot to low.

The crushed rosemary is on the right.

After cooking 10 to 12 hours, the meat is very tender, but it needs to be shredded into smaller pieces for sandwiches.  The easiest way to do this is with two forks.  If you want to use cheese -- most restaurants use Provolone or Mozzarella -- put it on the bread first and then add the meat. Heat the sandwiches in a 350° oven for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese starts to melt.  If you want the sandwiches plain, put the meat on the bread and skip heating them in the oven.  Strain the au jus and put in small bowls for dipping.

Although the recipe is for sandwiches, we love the flavor of the meat so much I often serve this as an entree.  I don't thicken the au jus for gravy.  I strain the au jus and put it in a gravy boat.  That way, we can use the leftover meat and au jus for sandwiches.

Dinner is served.

If you have any leftovers, the easiest way to reheat them is the same way you cooked them:  in a crock-pot.  I use a smaller 1 1/2-quart crock-pot for reheating because there's usually not a lot leftover.  Since it's already cooked, it only takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours to reheat.

This is a great dish to cook when you're going to be gone all day.  You can cook it when you're home, but the smell will have you salivating all day. Don't say I didn't warn you!

French Dip Sandwiches

8 Servings

1 (3 to 4 lb.) top chuck roast

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

4 whole peppercorns

1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups water

French or hoagie rolls

Remove and discard all visible fat from roast.  Place roast in a crock-pot. Combine soy sauce, bouillon cube and spices; pour over roast.  Add water. Cover and cook on low heat 10 to 12 hours or until meat is very tender. Remove meat from broth; shred with forks and keep warm.  Discard bay leaf.  Strain broth; skim off fat.  Pour broth into small cups for dipping. Serve warm on desired bread.

Variation:  If desired, put cheese on the bread before adding the meat.  Put sandwiches on a baking pan and heat in a 350° oven for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese starts to melt.

© Margaret's Morsels

Egg-Cellent Egg Salad

My son is too old to hunt Easter eggs, but that doesn't stop me from dyeing a dozen eggs every year.  Although the eggs are colorful, they have a purpose other than decoration.  I use them to make a batch of egg salad the day after Easter.  Not only is this a good use for the eggs, it makes for a light meal the day after our Easter feast.


I have a couple of friends that love egg salad, but have never made a batch.  I tell them if they can cook hard-boiled eggs, they can make egg salad.


Egg salad is one of those recipes you can make your own.  Like deviled eggs, you can add anything you like to egg salad.  I've seen recipes that use pickles, onion, celery and bacon.  It all boils down to what you want in your salad.  My egg salad recipe uses the same ingredients -- mayonnaise, salt, vinegar -- as the recipe I posted for deviled eggs, but the technique is different.


Once the eggs have been boiled and cooled, peel and cut each egg into four pieces.  If you're using Easter eggs, don't be alarmed if some of the dye has been absorbed by the egg white.  Roughly cut the eggs into bite size pieces in a mixing bowl.

Combine the eggs with the remaining ingredients and store covered in the refrigerator.  I make the egg salad early in the day or the day before serving.  This gives the vinegar time to mellow.

Egg salad is a quick refreshing meal, especially when paired with a cold glass of fruit tea.  It's good year round, but it's definitely more colorful when made with leftover dyed Easter eggs.

Egg Salad

4 Servings

6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vinegar

Chop eggs into bite size pieces.  Combine eggs with the remaining ingredients; stir until well mixed.  Store covered in the refrigerator.  If you're using a dozen eggs, double the ingredients.

© Margaret's Morsels

A Summertime Staple

Before summer is over, I want to share my favorite summertime recipe.  I make the first batch as soon as the mercury starts rising.  I obtained the recipe from a restaurant in Chattanooga 20 years ago.  It is the best Chicken Salad I've ever eaten!


All chicken salad recipes start out the same.  They use chicken, seasonings and something to bind it together.  Usually the binding ingredient is mayonnaise, but I've seen recipes that use sour cream, whipped cream, cream cheese and even Cool Whip.  Some recipes keep it simple, but other recipes add a lot of ingredients.  The additional ingredients fall into four categories:

• Fruit:  This is probably the most popular addition to chicken salad.  A lot of recipes use grapes, mandarin oranges or pineapple.  I've also seen recipes that use peaches, apricots, strawberries or cranberries.

• Vegetables:  Although not as popular as fruit, most recipes usually include celery, onion, pimentos or a combination of the three.  I've also found recipes that use garlic, green peas, green onions or broccoli.

• Texture:  Chicken salad doesn't have much texture which is why a lot of recipes include something crunchy.  Usually the crunch comes from celery or nuts, such as almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts.  Some recipes add texture by adding bacon, poppy seeds or French fried onions.

• Seasonings:  This is where personal preference comes into play more than any other category.  I stick with salt and pepper, but there are recipes that call for lemon juice, sugar, mustard, vinegar, honey, mint or Worcestershire sauce.

Chicken salad is a versatile recipe.  If you don't like an ingredient, you can leave it out or substitute something else in its place.  If you think it needs additional ingredients, you can add things you like.  When you add or subtract ingredients, you need to adjust the amount of the binding ingredient and seasonings as well.

My recipe uses what I consider to be traditional ingredients for chicken salad, but it does contain one ingredient that is slightly exotic:  water chestnuts.  Water chestnuts are bland, but they are extremely crunchy.  I highly recommend leaving them in the salad.

I omit the pecans if I know someone is allergic to nuts.  You could put pecans in half the batch and leave the other half plain.  However, you need to make sure you know which batch is which.  I find it easier just to leave out the pecans.

When I make chicken salad, I use chicken breasts with the skin and bone attached.  I find the meat is more flavorful than using boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  While the chicken is cooking, I prep all the other ingredients.  By the time the chicken is cooked, skinned and boned, I've got everything ready to assemble.  I make chicken salad a day ahead and refrigerate it so the flavors have time to blend.

I do all this while the chicken is cooking.

A nice way to serve chicken salad is on a lettuce lined platter.  You can use a cookie scoop to make individual mounds of chicken salad.  To make it fancier, top each mound with a sprig of parsley.


I like to serve chicken salad with a basket of croissants and another cold dish, such as Cherry Gelatin Fruit Salad.  Summer is quickly winding down, but I think there's enough time for me to make one more batch of chicken salad this season.

Chicken Salad

8 Servings

4 chicken breast halves

1 onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, halved

1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish, drained

1 (2 oz.) jar diced pimentos, drained

1/4 cup chopped  pecans

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

mayonnaise (enough to moisten)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Cover chicken with water; add salt, onion and stalk of celery.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover and cook until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Discard onion and celery.  Skin and debone chicken; chop into small chunks.  Add remaining ingredients; mix well.  Keep refrigerated.

© Margaret's Morsels