In the heat of the summer, using your oven could add unnecessary heat to your home. That extra heat makes your air conditioner work harder to keep your home comfortable, and in turn increases your electric bill.

The good news is that with a little creativity you can put the rest of the kitchen to work to save energy and stay cool. Small appliances use less electricity and emit far less heat than your oven or stove. And most meals can be cooked using countertop appliances to take the heat out of the kitchen.

Slow cooker: A slow cooker is a great alternative to your oven if you want to prepare a one-pot meal. In most cases, you can dump your ingredients into the pot in the morning, turn it on and come home to a fully prepared dinner. Some slow cooker models are programmable, so you can set them to cook for a certain amount of time and then switch to warm mode to keep your food hot until it’s time to eat. Some newer models even come with Wi-Fi so you can control how your dinner cooks from an app on your smartphone.

Microwave: Your microwave might be your go-to appliance to reheat leftovers or pop a bag of popcorn, but the device can aid in your dinner prep too. Microwaves work by spinning water molecules, which means they steam things, like vegetables, easily. They are also a great tool to melt chocolates and cheeses quickly and more easily than a double boiler could.

Toaster oven: A good toaster oven can do almost everything a full-size oven can do—without all the extra heat. You can use the appliance to roast vegetables, fruits, nuts and meats. There also great for baking casseroles, cobblers and kid-friendly freezer foods (think chicken nuggets, corn dogs or mini pizzas).

Rice cooker: A rice cooker makes preparing rice almost effortless and is great at cooking other grains too. With the help of a cookbook, you can prepare entire one-pot meals in a rice cooker.

Pressure cooker: A pressure cooker could potentially take the place of your slow cooker and rice cooker to create one-pot wonders. Some models can even cut out stove-top preparations, such a browning meat, with a sauté function. Using an electric pressure cooker is generally easy once you learn the various release methods—natural, quick and 10-or-5 minute—and their correct applications.

Air Fryer: An air fryer can fry foods with little to no oil. Best of all, it requires no pre-heating and is a quick and easy way to fry your favorite foods. You can cook all kinds of things in it, including fried chicken, bacon, grilled cheese and even donuts!