No-Cook Meals

Cool Recipes with Hot Tastes

© Mallory Giunchigliani

Sep 5, 2009

When temperatures are running high, and the last thing you want to do is use the stove, oven or barbeque, you can still provide a refreshing, healthy, well-balanced and delicious meal for your family, without turning on the heat.

Start with a refreshing drink, like the Pretty Tulip (all recipes follow article.) This can be made alcoholic or non-alcoholic, so the whole family can enjoy it.

For the starter, try a garden salad with red pepper basil dressing. You can use a variety of vegetables, but lettuce, arugula, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, olives and carrots best bring out the flavors of the dressings.

Another good side dish is squash carpaccio. This dish is sweet and acidic, tasty in every sense of the word.

The best main dish would be a Tuscan Chicken Veggie Wrap. This breaks some of the rules, since the chicken must be cooked beforehand. But it is served cold, so cook it at least 24 hours in advance, and refrigerate until ready to use in the wrap.

And, of course, dessert!! It wouldn't be a proper meal without something sweet to top it off, right? The perfect dessert to complete this meal is a Pineapple Dole Whip. These are sold at the Dole Pineapple Plantation on Oahu, throughout DisneyWorld and Disneyland and in some frozen yogurt joints on the mainland. It is a wonderful pineapple sorbet, very refreshing.

So after a long, hot day in the office, at school, wherever, this meal is the perfect thing to put on the table!

Pretty Tulip

Ingredients:

• 1 can frozen lemonade
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 package fresh strawberries, washed, de-stemmed, and quartered
• 2 shots Vodka (or Sprite)
• Ice

Directions:

1. Mix vodka, lemonade, strawberries and ice in blender until well blended. Rim glasses with sugar, garnish with strawberry and serve. To make this non-alcoholic, replace vodka with Sprite.

Red Pepper Basil Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp dried basil

Directions:

1. Whisk all ingredients together until well mixed.

Squash Carpaccio

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
• 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup minced shallots
• ½ cup chopped mixed herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, parsley, cilantro)
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ cup grated pecorino

Directions:

1. Arrange a few slices of squash and zucchini on a plate in a single layer.
2. Sprinkle with shallots and herbs, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Repeat to make about 5 layers.
4. Top with pecorino, let marinate for 20 minutes.

Tuscan Chicken Caesar Wrap

To make Tuscan sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp shallots, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1/8 cup dry white wine

To make wrap:

• 1 garlic herb tortilla
• 3-5 oz chicken, cubed, covered in Tuscan Sauce
• 1 slice pepper jack cheese
• Chopped lettuce, approx. 1 cup
• 2 slices tomato, chopped
• 4 artichoke hearts, chopped
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 1 -2 medium pepperoncini, diced

Directions:

1. To make sauce, whisk olive oil, vinegar, butter, broth and white wine. Add garlic, shallots and rosemary. Slowly mix in flour, until the sauce has a slightly thickened consistency. Toss cooked chicken into sauce and fully coat.
2. Lay tortilla flat on lightly floured surface. Spread a thin layer of pesto on tortilla. On bottom quarter of tortilla, lay lettuce topped with chicken. Top with tomato, artichokes and pepperoncini. Add pepper jack cheese.
3. Fold sides of tortilla in, fold bottom over vegetable/chicken mix. Tightly roll rest of tortilla, attempting to not tear. Cut in half and enjoy.

Dole Pineapple Whip

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (20 oz. each) Dole crushed pineapple
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions:

1. Drain pineapple: reserve 2 tbsp. juice. Set aside.
2. Place pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into two 1-quart freezer zipped bags. Store bags flat in freezer.
3. Freeze 1 1/2 hours or until slushy. Stir pineapple slush gently into whipped cream until slightly blended in large bowl.
4. Return to freezer until completely frozen, about 1 hour, and serve.

Pineapple Dole Whip from Disneyland

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