Home Grown Summer Squash, Smoked Chicken Sausage, and Rice

I did it!! I don’t know exactly how I did it but I’m glad it was successful. I’m sure I had help and guidance from above. Your probably wondering what I did, right! It may not seem impressive to you but its a grand challenge for me, homesteading its a whole new world. The challenge is how to grow a year round garden enough for a family of 4.

In spring I thought the gopher was going to destroy our garden. We thought by building a retaining wall would prevent any gopher from enter the planting area. “bzzzzzzt  (buzzer sound from family feud) wrong answer joe!” Little did we know that the gopher was already there just waiting for us to plant some yummy meals (that stinker).

Yep, I was totally surprise to see my lettuce get pulled underground. It was like watching a musician’s disappearing act as the lettuce was sucked down or just the like stars getting sucked into a black hole never to be seen again.  The gopher was slowly making its way across the garden destroying every  plant in its path. One morning I couldn’t take it any more and I started yelling at it “get out of my garden” and smashed every possible pathway. I didn’t care if it understood me or not. I didn’t care if my neighbors across the canyon heard me. They probably think I’m a crazy lady talking to her chickens.  I don’t care. The gopher is gone now!

The summer garden is thriving and I am very pleased with the results.   At one point I thought to myself, “what am I going to do with all of these veggies?” I had so much that I ended up giving my second harvest to my neighbors and my most recent harvest to family members.

Still giving away the produce wasn’t enough… the more I gave, the bigger the next harvest. There’s got to be another solution right? I  started experimenting with Zucchini. I’m not confident enough to start canning just yet.  However canning is definitely on my To Do List.   It was a great year for heirloom cucumbers and heirloom squash.  I just hope next years harvest will be just as grand.

Fun Veggie Fact: Did you know Zucchini is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium?  It is also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Phosphorus. Also Zucchini is a great source of dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium, Coffer and Manganese.

To celebrate the abundance harvest, I’d like to share a yummy recipe that my husband and I enjoy on a cool summer night. 

Smoked Chicken Sausage with Squash

September 23, 2014

Servings: 4

Total: 45 min

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By: arakerson@yahoo.com

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic clove chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 package of Aidells sweet basil & roasted garlic smoked chicken sausage
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 box of Farmhouse long grain & Wild herb & Butter Rice.

Directions

• Step 1 1. Cook the rice according to the package.
• Step 2 2. Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, gently heat olive oil (it has a low smoke point so you don’t want to heat it too much. If you’re concerned about this, substitute the oil with grape-seed oil). Add garlic, onions, and sausage. Stir until fragrant and golden.
• Step 3 3. In the same sauce pan, ad summer squash, vegetable broth, and cover. Stir occasionally and simmer over low heat. Simmer until squash is tender and cooked through.

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