Coping with a Heat Wave--meals and more

We all gotta beat the heat how we can!

Looks like my oven will be going on vacation for a while.  A heat wave is hitting my little part of the world.  With temperatures in the mid-90s or above outside, I don't think I need to add to the problem inside with the oven being on.  It will be difficult enough to keep the house at the mild 81 degrees we keep the air conditioning at in the summer!  I think we might actually up that to 85 for the duration of the heat wave to save some money.  I'm not really looking forward to my vampire gardening sessions for the next couple weeks either, but I don't think I'll be willing to venture out in the daytime much with temps that high!  Laugh it up, Southern folk, but I was reared in Michigan and have lived here pretty much my whole life, so 40 degrees in February is shorts weather (or it would be if I ever wore shorts, but I don't like them so live in jeans year round) but 90 is insufferably hot anytime of the year!

The oven being off won't leave my family without fresh home-prepared meals though.  I still could use the stovetop, slow cooker, grill (actually, that one would have to be my husband, since I'm pretty sure I'd blow something up or at least start a raging wildfire if I tried to use it.  I'm talented that way), deep fryer, and the microwave, although, really, I only use the microwave for thawing things I forgot to get out in a timely fashion and reheating leftovers.  If it wasn't attached to the house, we probably wouldn't have one.  Anyhoo, I figured out a meal plan for the next week based on these restrictions, plus being restricted to food I have on hand, things that will be ready in the garden, things from the farmers market, and things I can get on WIC, since I don't have any more money for grocery store shopping until Friday.  My meal plans basically consist of dinners, since breakfasts are consistently cereal, eggs & toast, or whatever I feel up to putting together that morning, since I'm soooooooo not a morning person (the only reason you get fresh blog posts with breakfast is that Blogger lets me schedule the posting time.  I'm sleeping when they come out!  hahaha) and lunches are typically leftovers from previous dinners, sandwiches, or whatever I feel like putting together at the moment (crackers and peanut butter anyone?) because my brain is already on dinner.  Also, stuff happens in life, so even though this is what I have planned for dinners, I reserve the right to change it at any time for any reason (don't feel like that tonight, oops ran out of a key ingredient, time, found a new recipe I want to try right away...to name a few common reasons I don't follow meal plans).

Recipes that I already have posted on this blog will be linked.  If there is no recipe link, and you want the recipe, please leave a note in the comments and I'll see about getting it up here for you sometime soon!

Day 1: broccoli, cheddar, and potato soup (garden broccoli & onions!  Yay!)
Day 2: black beans and rice with a garden salad (Yay!)
Day 3: chicken egg rolls (using veggies from the garden!  Yay!)
Day 4: pulled chicken sandwiches with homemade french fries and cucumber (from garden?  Yay?) and tomato salad
Day 5: fajitas (using onions from the garden!  Yay!)
Day 6: chicken, mashed potatoes, and sweet carrots (from the garden!  Yay!)
Day 7: chicken pasta salad

Fortunately, this meal plan looks yummy enough that I'm not too sad that it looks like it will be a while longer until I can have one of my summer favorites, zucchini casserole, despite zucchini from my garden almost being ready!