what are some summer dinners I can fix for my family with out using the stove or oven?

Sandwiches, cup noodles, take out, salads with spam sandwich, jello, fruit salad, crackers with cheese.

But if you have a microwave then no problem...you can get microwave munches and serve without being in the kitchen for 30mins with the oven or stove on.

One of my favorite summer dishes is super simple and no heat required! Plus the dish itself is cold, so that's a plus.

I love just hitting the store looking for the nicest in season veggies and making a huge plate of bite sized veg. Then a simple lettuce salad with about 1 or 1/2 cans per person (depending on the size of everyone's tummies!) of the really good chunked canned tuna. (Not the cheapo stuff that'd you'd make a casserole with but the 3-4$ per can stuff.). Personally I like it best with Italian dressing or just oil and vinegar, but the kids are normally more into it if you offer ranch or something.

Go for Thai food

If you have a rice steamer cook rice (or see how you cook it in a slow cooker). That's your only real cooking

Laab/Larb (spicy meat salad) Take any sort of meat - cooked ground pork or chicken breast (can be cooked in a microwave), or canned tuna or raw salmon. Finely chop and put in a large bowl. The proportions of the other ingredients will be to taste depending on how much meat you use. Add 1/2 finely sliced red onion or 1-2 shallots. Finely chop a few tsp of green onions. Add fresh chopped coriander and mint to taste. Add the ratio of 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce to 1 tsp sugar depending on the amount of meat/fish. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 - 1 lime. Add fresh chopped red chiles to taste. The balance of these ingredients depends on your taste but you should have a mix of salty(fish sauce), sweet (sugar), sour (lime juice) and spicy (chile) to taste. Mix well and allow to sit for at least 2-4 hours for the best taste (better if marinated overnight). Serve at room temperature

Som Tom (green papaya salad) - or if you can't get green papaya from an Asian market you can use carrots, jicama or a cucumber that is not soft and shred into strips Take 1 clove garlic and 1 small red birdseye chile or one large medium spicy red chile (or less or more depending how spicy you want it) and pound in a mortar and pestle into a coarse paste. Add a small handful of green beans and pound lightly to break the outer skin. Coarsely chop 1 large tomato or half 5 cherry tomatoes and lightly pound with the mixture in the mortar and pestle. In a bowl combine 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce with 1/2 tsp sugar (palm sugar is best but normal white or brown sugar is fine) and the juice of 1 lime until sugar has melted. Stir in the mixture from the mortar and pestle into the bowl. Then add the shredded fruit/veg and stir to coat. Again it's better if you can marinate overnight. Before serving top with chopped unsalted peanuts. Serve at room temperature on a bed of lettuce and you can add sliced cucumber or shredded carrots or daikon on the side

If you have kids, go light on the chiles in both dishes and add fresh chopped chiles when serving.

If you can get Thai glutinous rice, then soak the rice in water overnight, then drain and steam for 20 minutes. Thai sticky rice is the normal accompaniment for these tasty salads

Mylilacs, well for lunch I had sliced of left over roast beef, with a salad consisting of romaine lettuce, sliced of tomato, shredded carrot, celery, sliced of pickled beets, cucumber, some pickled vegetables, and a pineapple ring on the side. You can do the same adding swiss cheese and smoked leg ham, You can make a jumbo shrimp salad, I know shrimp, a little expensive.

If you notice no stove required.

Cole Slaw - use your favorite recipe or this delicious one I have provided below

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 head green cabbage, cored, quartered, sliced thinly into strips

1/4 head red cabbage, cored, quartered, sliced thinly into strips

1/2 medium red onion, slices thinly

2 grated carrots

1 small green bell pepper, sliced thinly

Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and dry mustard. Shake well.

In a large bowl, put in cabbages, carrot, onion, and green pepper. Pour dressing over all. If too vinegary, add a little water. If too bland, add vinegar. If you want it a little sweet, add 1 teaspoon of sugar to dressing.

(Source: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,2346,155183-234207,...

Caprese:

With fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil you can quickly bring together a delicious caprese salad or sandwich. I find that it is best served on a fresh baguette when served in a sandwich.

Wraps:

There are a number of different options to suit your preferences, you can use whole wheat or white tortillas, add your favorite type of meat, veggies, cheese, and/or sauce. And aside from getting your ingredients, they can be made in about five minutes.

Fruit salad:

Using whatever fruit is in season/you have in the house.

you can saute chicken breast in a pan with a little olive oil (on a medium flame), steamed veggies, stewed chicken, stewed pork chops.

http://www.food.com/recipes/stove-top

also, a george forman grill is great for cooking anything without using the stove at all! you can make great grilled chicken on it! One time, out gas was out, so I made chicken on the george foreman, then I made seasoned, steamed potatoes in the microwave...believe it or not, you can also make complete meals using the microwave!

http://busycooks.about.com/od/microwaveovens/a/mic...

Marinate chicken in Italian dressing and then grill. Make enough so that you have left overs. Serve with a chopped salad or store bought potato salad.

Chicken Caesar Salad: use left over chicken, shred, add to pre-packaged Caesar Salad mix. Serve with rolls, butter, and fresh fruit salad.

Grilled steak with herb butter, serve with spinach salad (add sliced ripe pears, candied walnuts, goat cheese, and toss with Champagne vinagrette), and rolls.

Sub sandwiches: make your favorites, add chips, dip and fresh veges.

Get a slow cooker or crock pot, there are lots of great meals you can make in them. You can put in whatever your cooking and mostly forget about it til mealtime, and it doesn't heat up your kitchen. You can find tons of great crock pot recipes online or most of them come with a small cook book when you purchase them.

Use a hot plate, toaster oven, or an electric skillet. <3

bust out those microwave meals then!