Today we had "fast food"

At our household, we put our cooking paraphernalia through its paces.  Dishwasher - average of 3.5 loads per day - 365 days a year.  Dishes, cookware, utensils, you name it.  We go out of our way to source foods locally - putting up foods in the summer for the winter, and specifically not buying foods you can get locally out of season.  (Bananas don't grow too well in Michigan, so we do get that year round.)

Now that you know a bit of background, and that we cook a lot, we have 4 kids - and there are almost never leftovers.  Tonight, we had tacos (left over from last night), and chicken cacciatore (from 2 nights ago).  Yummy!  Add to that some leftover summer squash (see below), and lettuce picked Friday from the ground with homemade Ranch dressing - I am stuffed!

Now we get a lot of summer squash - in the summer.  One recipe we found that is so darned simple yet so good it should be a crime:  cube up the summer squash (about 3 cups), add a diced onion, and a couple of diced hot banana peppers.  Sautee in a pan with olive oil, salt & pepper, and about 1.5 TBS of honey - dyn-o-mite!  The heat of the peppers and sweetness of the honey, combined with the saltiness - makes your mouth go zing!  Don't overcook or the squash gets mushy.  Any summer squash will work - patty pans, the long yellow kind, green kind, zucchini, you name it.  The recipe in the book also called for a leek - if you have it, go for it.  Our leeks aren't ready yet, so maybe next week.