cheap meal ideas for summer

[Milk8shake]

So we're coming into the summer here in Oz.  The heat and the humidity will soon be out of control, and I'm looking for some meal ideas.  I've been pretty good with stretching out our meals so far using lentils, beans, pasta, rice, etc, but soon it's gonna be too hot to eat those things.  We're already eating later at night so it is cooler. 

The hard part of this is that DP was raised in a meat and potatoes type of household, and has never, ever really eaten a salad.  He's not keen on a lot of vegetables, and I have been working on expanding his range for years, but it is slow going. 

I eat heaps of salad and veg because I am (basically) vegan, and I find it hard to come up with meals for both of us.

For example, usually I would make a pasta we can both eat, and then he will add his meat on the side.  Ditto with stir fries, etc. 

I'd love some meal ideas that I could use maybe to lure him out of his meat and potato habit, but if nothing else, something that is not unbearable to eat when the temperature is in the high 30s. 

Thanks!

[Momsteader]

During the summer, I made lots of  'salads' and keep in the fridge. Not your usual lettuce salad. But, pasta salad with italian type dressing and diced veggies (peppers, onoins. broc, etc.) or pasta salad with 'sweet and sour' (pimentos/vinegar/mustard/sugar) dressing with onions and cukes or quinoa/couscous with nuts/veg or broc/caul/onion with ranch.  For your meat lovin' hubby what about grilled kebabs with meat for him and lots of veg for you.

[ollyoxenfree]

Can he grill his meat or fish separately on a BBQ outdoors? That will avoid additional heat inside the kitchen and the house. 

Noodle salads are fairly quick and easy to prepare. I just boil a kettle of water and pour it over rice noodles and wait a few minutes until they soften, so there is almost no cooking. You can julienne veggies to add to the noodles and use a no-cook dressing. Donna Hay and Bill Granger both have great, easy recipes for noodle salads in their cookbooks. 

Corn fritters (or cauliflower or zucchini fritters) also don't require a lot of cooking - just a few minutes per side in a saute pan. I find a lot of people who don't otherwise like veggies are pretty happy to eat them in what is basically a pancake form. They are substantial enough for a vegetarian meal (especially if you top them with a little cheese) but also make a nice side dish with a meat main dish. I use frozen corn kernels, so I do boil them for a couple of minutes and drain them before I add them to the fritter batter. If you microwave them, it takes even less time. 

[Milk8shake]

Kebabs and fritters sound like great ideas.  I would have to see if I can hunt down a vegan friendly fritter recipe, but that shouldn't be too hard. 

Thank you both