Most of us don't like to crank up the heat on our stoves or ovens in the summertime but we still want good meats and saucy sides and baked desserts, so how is this possible? Can you have the best of both worlds? You can! By bringing a cast iron skillet out to the grill anything is possible! Here are a few tips and ideas to make the summer meals of your dreams.

All of the Fish, None of the Stink!

There is nothing better than a perfectly seared piece of salmon, but I, like many people, don't always love the idea of making salmon because I know my house will smell like the ocean for a few days. Thankfully, there is a perfect solution! Grab that salmon (or clams, or shrimp, or whatever seafood you are craving), grab your cast iron skillet and head out to the grill. Any stovetop fish recipe should work great on the grill.

Achieve a Perfect Flat Sear with Smoky Flavor

You don't always want grill marks, so if you want a nice even sear, fire up your grill and put a skillet on it. And if you happen to be using charcoal, put the cover on the grill for a few minutes and the air inside the grill with circulate around your food and give it smoky depth.

Cook a Side on the Side

If you are making some steak for tacos on the grill and you want something like refried beans as a side, go ahead and whip those up on your cast iron and stick them next to your delicious steak on the grill. Multi-tasking at its best! Of course you could do the opposite as well. Cook up some saucy clams in the skillet and get perfect grilled corn as your side, all at the same time!

Make a Skillet Sauce

There are so many great sauces that go great spooned over grilled meats. Find your favorite recipe and whip it up outside on the skillet and stay away from your hot kitchen.

Grill all the Delicate Little Things

Sometimes you might be grilling some small veggies or something that seems even too delicate for the grill basket. Cook them up on the skillet and you will no longer have to worry about those snap peas falling desperately into the fiery pits of doom!

Bake Something

You could also always try baking something like a giant chocolate chip cookie to share, or something on the grill. When you close the lid it basically becomes an oven so you can even make things like cobblers, pies, corn breads, etc. Anything you can bake in an oven, you can bake in a grill. But keep in mind that grills have a more intense heat from the bottom than most ovens have, so save delicate things like sponge cake for the fall.