The Garden Greatness

Last summer we moved to a house that sits on half an acre and I LOVE it! I begin planning our garden for this year then, sine it was too late to start one. In the fall I recruited my best friend Allie to help. In the winter I knew by the summer harvesting veggies would be hard while super pregnant in the Texas heat and was glad I had recruited Allie. Then we learned it would be hard for Allie too, yay! We promptly recruited Laura and started Harvesting Joy (we are nerds and named our garden group). Mine and Allie's husbands built the 16ft square box and we ordered dirt. We were planting onions when I got the phone call that my quad screen wasn't normal and these two friends provided support. We planted the rest of the veggies (squash, zucchini, tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, green beans, and peppers) and watermelon after Grant was born. This gave me something to do but it also brought 3 friends together even more. Laura and Allie are true friends, ones who support you, love you, and surround you in prayer. Our garden is growing like crazy and we have been harvesting squash, zucchini, cucumbers and onions. The tomatoes and okra will be ready soon. Since we have an abundance of fresh veggies I have been trying to find ways to prepare them that the kids will like. Here are two favorites so far. I'll post more if we find some :)

1. Grilled squash and zucchini
We sliced both and placed on foil. We then added about 2 tablespoons of butter, garlic and herb seasoning and pepper, wrapped in foil and grilled for about 20 min. They were still slightly crunchy and we ALL loved it.

2. Meatballs with puréed zuchinni
preheat oven to 400
1 lb lean ground beef
2 medium zucchini
3/4 tsp salt
1 small onion diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp oregano
1/2-3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (may need more for density of meatballs)

1. Slice and boil zucchini until soft
2. Purée without extra water or cooking water.
3. Mix all above ingredients
4. Refrigerate for 30 min (can be longer)
5. Form into 1 1/2in balls and place on foil lined baking sheet
6. Place in preheated oven for 20-25 min until browned and done

We served it with spaghetti and it was delicious