Kid-friendly, One Pot Stove-Top Meals for Hot Summer Days

Cooking in summer poses dilemmas: it's too hot to turn on the oven, the crock pot requires a full day of cooking and propane for the grill is expensive. Some meals don't do so well on the grill, either. Toss in some picky eaters or special diets and cooking in summer is a nightmare. Here are quick, easy stove-top meals for summer. These meals are kid-friendly, one-pot, easy clean-up meals, too; because if it's too hot to cook, it's too hot to do mountains of dishes, too.

Stove-top Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy: As usual, forgetful me always thaws a roast and then forgets to put it in the slow cooker until the end of the day. Since the family needs to eat before midnight, I need a solution and here is. Place the roast in a dutch oven or soup kettle. Add a can of mushroom soup (26 ounce size for larger roasts), fresh or frozen green beans, pared carrot and potato chunks, black olives and a teaspoon of Spike seasoning (no Spike? use half a package of French onion soup mix). Simmer on low until meat is tender. If desired, serve gravy over bread or biscuits. Children love this recipe because it tastes like Thanksgiving green bean casserole (especially if you garnish with some french-fried onions)

Herbed chicken with dumplings and vegetable gravy: Stew several pieces of chicken with the skin on (wash carefully because bacteria gets trapped under the skin). Season chicken and water with sage, marjoram, black pepper, garlic, celery salt and onion (fresh or minced). Remove skin from chicken when cooked and discard. Place chicken in covered casserole dish. Make drop or dumpling BisQuick biscuits according to recipe (omit sugar and add pepper and sage to biscuit mix). Get kids involved making the biscuits. Teach them to gently drop biscuits in the broth and watch them "bake".

Return chicken broth to boiling, carefully drop biscuit mix into water and seal with lid. Dumplings will steam and cook. Remove cooked dumplings and place with chicken. Make gravy with remaining broth. Add fresh broccoli florets or brussel sprouts and one stick butter or margarine to broth. Mix cornstarch and cold water (hot water forms lumps). Return broth to medium boil, add cornstarch and stir till thickened to desired consistency.For chicken and rice, follow this recipe, but add rice to broth with margarine in place of biscuits. Try jasmine rice is fragrant, healthy and delicious. Children love jasmine rice because it smells and tastes like popcorn.

BBQ meatballs, bean balls or veggie balls: Simmer frozen meatballs, chopped onions, tomatoes and green peppers in equal parts ketchup (or chili sauce) and grape jelly. For spicier meatballs, reduce jelly and add several dashes of Louisiana hot sauce. For bean balls, make a package of falafel (add water and fluff till absorbed). Mold into balls and fry in olive oil. For veggie balls, pare and cook yams or butternut squash until tender. Add dash of garlic, onion powder, lemon juice and whole wheat flour. Gently pan fry in olive oil until browned. Cook like meatballs. Simmer bean or veggie balls in BBQ sauce and vegetables. This meal can be made easily in electric frying pan, too.

Island fajitas: For marinade, blend molasses, lime juice, brown sugar, cooking oil, worcestershire sauce and a dash of garlic and ginger. Cut beef roast or steak (any variety) into bite-sized pieces. Marinate beef overnight. Cook in stove-top or electric frying pan. Add coarsely chopped green peppers, onions and carrots. Simmer until meat is cooked and vegetables are tender. Place filling in flour tortilla shells or large, clean lettuce leaves. Top with shredded cheese, lettuce, chopped tomato and sour cream). No matter how picky they are, children universally love these fajitas.

Stove-top cooking method add surprisingly little heat to the house, especially if you run an exhaust fan or face fan outward in the window to vent hot air. Grills are great for roasting meat, but they don't work so well for slow-cooking. Stove-top meals are less expensive that outdoor gas grills and easier to monitor if you're working around the house.