There are times in the kitchen when you look in the refrigerator and across the counter and decide that dinner is going to be all these odds and ends left from other projects. This is one of those times.
Sitting on my counter were the following items from my garden here at the end of the season.
1 yellow crook-necked squash
1 yellow straight-necked squash
1 zucchini
6 small red new potatoes
4 red grape tomatoes
8 yellow bell tomatoes
Sitting in the refrigerator was:
1/2 bundle of asparagus
1/4 package of bacon
1 kielbasa
Well, due to an upcoming chili cooking contest, cold storage was at a premium so it was time to make some space. I started with peeling all the squashes and cutting them down into cubes. I peeled my cute little potatoes and put them on to boil. A quick side note, if you like to garden, growing red potatoes is easy. Back to dinner, I cut all the small tomatoes in half and tossed them into bowl with the squash. Last, I cut the asparagus down bite-sized strips.
I gave the potatoes about a ten minute head start before tossing the bacon and 1/4 cup of water into a large pan to start the cooking. Depending on your stovetop, a medium heat should be more than enough for this part of the program. As soon as the bacon had begun to firm up, I tossed in all the veggies. Now, it was time to pull the potatoes and cut each one into fours and toss them into the pan. At this point, you only have a few minutes until everything is cooked properly so I went ahead and sliced up my kielbasa to have it ready to add for the last couple of minutes.
Remember to stir the veggies completely about once every minute. A couple minutes into the cooking and it time to add the spices. For this one I chose:
1 tbsp. dry flake parsley
1 tbsp. dry flake tarragon
2 tsp. lemon pepper
Personally, I shake in my spices while stirring to make sure I get a good even coverage of everything in the pan. After getting my spices in, I added the kielbasa slices and stirred in well. I covered it for the last minute or two of cooking time. You can check the density of your squash by stabbing with a toothpick or small fork tine. If it penetrates fairly easily, it is done. Turn off the heat and you are ready to serve. Personally, I like veggies a bit on the al dente side, however, cook them to the density you prefer.
On the table, I normally have additional spice available because everyone has their own level of flavor or heat that they like best. You can always add extra spice and flavor, but you can’t take it out. Enjoy ?
The Cooking Today Show 