Doesn’t that look delicious?

As I have told you before, Ryan and I have had to get pretty creative with squash and zucchini this year because we have a ton.

Here is one of my inventions:

I am going to call it the “Squash and Lasagna Mix Up.”

I boiled some squash (I used 2 really large ones)  for a few minutes, until tender.

Cooked a pound of Italian sausage.

I gathered up some Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese; and. . .

mixed the cheeses together.

Then I heated some tomato sauce.

We also have a ton of tomatoes, but I was lazy on this particular night and used Prego.

I put the squash in,

and the Italian sausage.

I stirred it all up and put it in a 13 x 9.

Put the cheese mixture on top and put in the oven for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

This concoction totally satisfied by lasagna craving and used up some more squash and zucchini.

I think I will make it again!

This recipe I got from The Pioneer Woman’s new site, TastyKitchen.com:

Italian Zucchini Bake

I obviously use yellow squash and zucchini interchangeably, I can not tell any difference, other than color, of course.

It is pretty simple, you basically just cook the squash and sausage, mix all of the other ingredients together and bake them in here:

This is a very easy and very delicious.

It reminded us of a breakfast casserole, so we ate the leftovers for breakfast!

You can find the printable recipe here.

Ryan decided he was going to find a new way to eat squash.  This is what he came up with:

He put the bacon wrapped squash on the grill.

When the bacon was crispy he sprinkled them with shredded mozzarella.

When the mozzarella was melted he took them off the grill, put hot pepper sauce and dried cranberrys and they were delicious!

I don’t know  what he has decided to call this new recipe. . .

BUT, we have not had many peppers yet.

So, when Ryan asked for stuffed peppers, I made stuffed peppers and stuffed squash.

I did not use a recipe, but I ‘m going to try to create one with pictures. . .

In a Skillet,  I cooked lean  ground beef (a little over a pound), squash, onion, jalapeno, salt and pepper. You can leave out the squash or add bell peppers. I would have added peppers if we would have had any.

While you’re waiting on the beef halve your peppers, or squash,  clean out the seeds, and put them in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes. When they are slightly tender take them out and drain them.

When the squash and onions were tender, I added a can of sliced mushrooms, garlic, cooked rice (2 cups-ish), and a little sauce that is a mixture of ketchup (1/2 cup-ish), Worcestershire sauce (1 tsp-ish), and hot pepper sauce (to taste)

You could add diced tomatoes and/or tomato sauce in addition to or instead of the ketchup mixture, it is equally delicious.

When the mixture is complete, put the squash and peppers in a greased baking dish.

Fill them with the mixture and top with cheese

Bake, at 350, for about 20 minutes. . .

and enjoy!

First you need:

Fresh green beans from the garden

Ryan and I sat on the front porch, and snapped them, while watching the baby bunnies play.

Baby red potatoes:

A ham hock (about 1/2 pound) and chicken broth (3 quarts):

Bring the ham hock and broth to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the green beans, potatoes, an onion (sliced), a bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Bring it to a boil again, then simmer until the green beans and potatoes are the desired tenderness.

I usually let it simmer for about a 30 minutes.

Then eat up!

You may want to add a little more salt and pepper, and some butter on the potatoes.

Here’s what to do, it’s very simple.

Cut up your veggies (Peppers, Onions, Cucumbers, Squash, etc.), and rinse tomatoes and mushrooms.

Put the Veggies in a ziplock bag with Italian dressing.

Shake it up, making sure all of the veggies are coated with with dressing, let them marinate for 30 minutes, then put them on the grill.

Leave them on the grill for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Then they are all done!

We ate them with steak and the peas I wrote about here.

PS- If you do not already own a grill basket, you need to get one, they are great!

Get one from Amazon.com here:

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In this case, thinking of a title for a post about my “good garden peas” brought back memories of that great southern colloquialism. . .

Anyway, I reckon I better get on with it!

Fresh Peas:

(The peas Ryan was referring to in this post.)

Peas are my favorite.

I love them and I hate for their natural sweetness to be covered up.

Here is a quick delicious way to “fix ‘em”

A little butter and half of a red onion, cook until the onion is soft (approximately 5 minutes):

Pour in your peas:

(Add salt and pepper to taste)

Cook them, stirring frequently, for about 5-7 minutes

“Good Garden Peas!”  They’re Done!

This is a white Patty-pan squash:

Although the shape and color differ from the yellow squash, the taste and texture are much the same.

This is what happens when zucchini and yellow squash cross:

Alright now to cook some squash:

Bacon!!

Slice it up and throw it in the skillet:

(You can add an onion, or two,  if you like)

When the bacon is almost done, drain, and pour in some, or a whole lot of, sliced squash:

Cover and let it cook on Medium-Low heat for about a half and hour,

then you will have delicious easy squash!

So, I did something a little different:

First, put a pot of salt water on to boil.

Take 2 medium onions, or 1 medium onion and two small onions if your garden is still short on the larger onions. . .

Dice them

Canadian Bacon

(Generally when using Canadian Bacon for flavor, you would only use a slice or two, I use the whole package.)

Diced

Put the onions and bacon in a skillet with melted butter

Wash the cabbage, throwing out the rough outer leaves and hard core.

Put it in the boiling water for about 1 minute then turn off the heat and let it cool.

When the cabbage has cooled, drain it and cut it into smaller pieces, 6 to 8 per leaf.

And place it in the skillet with the onions and bacon, which now should look something like this:

Let the cabbage cook for about 10 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste, and then it’s done!

And it is yummy!