This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I’m sharing what I love to cook when the weather is too hot to turn on the oven. Plus, you’ll see a peak into the kid’s first day back at daycare!
It’s been HOT here in Wisconsin! We had some friends visit from CA, and they were shocked at the humidity and kept saying how hot it was…this is before it reached the 90s.
When it’s hot and you don’t quite feel like cooking, I’m here sharing some of my favorite hot weather non-cooking recipes.

- Watermelon salsa – summery and fresh!
- Easy cucumber salad – a nice easy cold appetizer salad
- Antipasto skewers – my new go-to for picnics and parties.
- Summer melon salad – one of (if not THE) best summer fruit salads I’ve ever had
- DIY sandwich bar – a meal everyone will love without any cooking
- Spinach hummus feta wraps – a light no-cook vegetarian wrap that’s really great for mid-day!
- Easy dessert recipe with pie peaches – these can be a 5 ingredient no bake dessert, they can be made with peaches (or pie peaches) and are sooooo friggin good
- Refreshing cucumber melon spritzer – definitely a must-make refreshing drink – can be a mocktail or cocktail!
- Summer sangria – for a summer sangria everyone will love.
What do you enjoy when it’s super hot outside?
Sharing the latest posts up on Sweetphi.com!

- Father’s Day gift guide – if you’re short on ideas, here are some of my favorites, both homemade and non-homemade!
- Weekly meal plan – an easy way to plan a week’s full of meals.
- Grilled pineapple chicken burger – a healthier alternative to red meat burgers and just the right amount of island flare!
- Love List – weekly finds from all over the web
- Summer dessert roundup – everything you need to end a delicious summer meal.
- First day of school breakfast – the kids are back at daycare 2 days a week. Ben picked scrambled eggs and toast for their special back to school breakfast. He wanted it ‘just like the picture in my room’ – he has a funny poster of breakfast food from Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec which he saw in Nick’s office when we were moving last year and wanted in his room.
- Quick quac and nachos for dinner – one of our favorite things to do is to make a quick guacamole and then have it with just chips, or make nachos (you could always make these nachos with any kind of meat – the other night we made them with grilled steak!)

- Brunch with friends – we had friends over for brunch with their kids. I made a garden veggie quiche but without the crust…so I guess you could call it a frittata – it’s the same as a quiche without the crust. Totally recommend this as a brunch option and to use all the different veggies you have on hand (we used bell peppers, zucchini, chives and green onions topped with asparagus, so good). We got a dozen bagels to go with it and I made a fruit salad, must say, it was a lovely spread and super easy because I made the frittata ahead of time and then just popped it into the oven before they came.
If you’re looking for a non-mayo based potato salad, I love to use my recipe for oil and vinegar potato salad. See what one of my readers has to say about it.
- “Have made this a few times now. Was craving whilst very pregnant and salivated today at the thought of making it again. My Serbian husband has now declared that he remembers why he married me lol I am Italian background so this isn’t the norm for us. Also I use just white vinegar instead of red wine as I never have any and it still works a treat. Have taken this one down in my recipe book!”
- The perfect summer recipe reader recreation for lemonade pie!

- These refrigerator mats – these mats are non-slip shelf liners that add a bit of color to your refrigerator and help keep it cleaner. Instead of scrubbing shelves, you can simple remove these mats to wash and replace.

- I’m loving Just Last Night! After my last newsletter recommending it another book, one of my sisters called and said I should read Just Last Night, and she wasn’t wrong, it’s fantastic, but grab your tissues.

- I just got The Defined Dish – I’ve heard it’s a good healthy-ish cookbook, exactly what I’m looking for for summer

- First day of school lunch date and report. I was all nervous for the kids’ first day of school. They’ve been home with us for the past year and a half. It was really sweet, Nick came and we had lunch outside by my work. When I picked up the kids, they all had THE BEST DAY ever. They all loved it and it made me so happy to hear it and read the little reports about what they all did.
- Garage sale car. The very next day I was taking the twins on a walk and there were a bunch of neighborhood garage sales. I had seen how much Frankie loved the little car at school, and saw one for $10 at a garage sale, so I HAD to get it. The kids have ALL been having a blast using it. Even though it’s too small for Ben, he knows how to squeeze into it and they love being pushed by Nick (Frankie and Ben love going fast and smile and laugh, Freddie likes going slow lol).
- Frankie loves reading. My little princess Frankie loves reading. Right now she’s loving The Little Pea which is the story of a pea who has to eat candy for dinner and only after he finishes his candy does he get to have dessert…SPINACH lol. She was a little under the weather one day this week and when she stayed home she just spent the day reading.
- Friends date night. We went on a friends date night out. We went to Movida at Hotel Madrid – it’s a tapas restaurant – so fun, just the right amount of fancy and casual and delicious!!
EAT
- I need to be better about lunches (always a struggle) so I’m going to be making this and this jar recipes ahead!

WATCH
- How have I never heard about the show Younger – it’s on Hulu. I just started watching at season 1 (there are 7 seasons) and I cannot wait to binge watch it this summer. It’s light and fun, I think.
PURCHASE
- Summer sandals! We had a SweetPhi team meeting, and it was really funny – everyone was wearing the different sandals they had mentioned in the Love List (I love these, Bridget always wears Birks, but loves these for flip flops and Alyssa loves these)
What do you make when it’s too hot to cook? I’d love to know, so just leave a comment below and let me know.
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