Granny's Garden Vegetable Saute

Granny's Garden Vegetable Saute

This recipe is one my beloved Granny, Arretta Beard used to make. It isn't so much of an actual recipe, as it is a way to use the bits and pieces of garden produce that you just don't have enough of to make a dish of alone. This is what I had last night: 

A huge zucchini that had been over looked at least a couple of days... coupled with over 2" of rain! Some ripe tomatoes that needed used ASAP. Onion. Yellow squash, (red) bell pepper, mushrooms, green beans, and okra. (I cooked  and served the okra separately, but it is fine in this dish, if you like.) I had a baggie of leftover crudites from Mr C's lunch... celery, baby carrots.
The key ingredients in Granny's dish always were squash, tomatoes and onions. 

So, whack up the veggies. (This zucchini was so big, I scooped the seeds out and chopped up the flesh of it. I actually had enough raw veggies cut up that I sealed half in a freezer bag and froze it for another day.)

 Get your skillet going, and add a touch of cooking oil of your choice. 

(If you choose to have meat in this dish, this is a good time to brown it up and set aside.  Saves dirtying up another skillet! Granny liked "Little Smokies" in hers. I usually use a summer sausage. This time I used *Three Cheese Chicken Sausage Links* from Aldi. I have made it with Italian sausage. I have made it with leftover chopped chicken. But it is just as good without meat.)

I seasoned this one with salt, pepper, and some smoked paprika. Other choices- whatever herbs you have on hand! Basil is wonderful. Maybe a couple sprigs of rosemary some time. Summer Savory is good.

Add the chopped veggies to the oil in the hot skillet. You really need very little oil, just enough to coat the skillet so the vegetables don't stick. Allow to cook, stirring from time to time to keep the vegetables cooking more evenly. You may want to cover this as it cooks.

Cook until your veggies are tender. I had a lid over this part of the time, so the captured heat and steam could cook things through without evaporating too much juice.  Add the cooked meat back in, if you wish.

 I served this over "Dirty Rice" (from a box.)  I usually just use plain cooked rice. If you have leftover rice from some other meal, just toss it in as the vegetables cook. Could be served over noodles, or sauteed shredded cabbage.