Tag: #FarmStand

Posted in Recipe Roundup

Make the Most of September’s Harvest: 7 Simple Ways to Buy, Cook & Preserve

Posted on by simplegoodfood

September has a way of making the kitchen feel a little more abundant.

The farm stands are full. Corn is piled high. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and other seasonal vegetables are everywhere you look. It’s tempting to bring home a little bit of everything.

But making the most of the harvest isn’t about buying everything you can carry.

It’s about buying what you’ll use, enjoying what’s fresh, putting a little back, and making tomorrow’s meals easier.

That’s the idea behind this week’s collection of GoodFoodGoodMeat.Blog posts.

🍂 The September Harvest Approach

There are really four steps to making the most of seasonal abundance:

Buy it at its peak.
Look for what’s plentiful, fresh, and reasonably priced.

Use it well.
Build simple meals around what you already have.

Put a little back.
When something is especially good and plentiful, preserve an amount that makes sense for your household.

Use it later.
The food you preserve isn’t just something sitting in the freezer or pantry. It’s an ingredient waiting for a future meal.

That’s the philosophy behind all seven posts in this week’s harvest collection.

🌽 This Week’s Harvest Collection

When the Farm Stand is Full
Read the Article!
Smart Shopper Spotlight: What to Buy When It’s in Season
Read the Article!
Harvest Chicken & Vegetable Skillet
Tender pieces of chicken are cooked with sweet corn, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes for a simple skillet dinner that tastes like the best of late summer and early fall.
Check out this recipe
Put a Little Back: Sweet Corn — Today’s Corn, Tomorrow’s Meals
Read the Article!
How Much Should You Actually Preserve?
Read the Article!
Harvest Corn & Chicken Rice Bowls
There is something satisfying about putting food away when it's at its best and then actually using it later.
Check out this recipe
Farm Stand Vegetable Fritatta
When the farm stand is full, make a frittata!
Check out this recipe

Start With What’s in Front of You

Our week begins at the farm stand.

When the Farm Stand is Full

A full farm stand is an invitation to pay attention—not necessarily an invitation to buy everything.

The opening article looks at how to recognize seasonal abundance and make thoughtful choices about what comes home with you.

The goal is simple:

Buy what is good. Buy what you’ll use. And when it makes sense, buy a little extra for later.

🛒 Shop With a Plan

Once you know what’s plentiful, the next question is what actually belongs in your basket.

Smart Shopper Spotlight: What to Buy When It’s in Season

Seasonal shopping can be a great way to find fresh produce at good prices, but the smartest purchase isn’t necessarily the biggest one.

This article looks at how to think about:

  • What’s actually in season
  • How much you’ll realistically use
  • Whether you have room to store it
  • Whether you have time to preserve it
  • How buying seasonal produce can help reduce waste
  • When buying extra makes sense

Because a bargain isn’t really a bargain if half of it ends up in the trash.

🍗 Cook the Harvest Now

Fresh seasonal vegetables don’t have to become an elaborate project.

Harvest Chicken & Vegetable Skillet

This colorful one-skillet dinner brings together tender chicken with sweet corn, zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, and onion.

It’s exactly the kind of meal that makes seasonal shopping worthwhile.

You don’t need a complicated recipe when good ingredients are already doing most of the work.

And because the recipe is flexible, it’s also a good reminder that a recipe can be a starting point rather than a set of rules.

Use what looks good.

Use what you have.

Make dinner.

🫙 Put a Little Back

Of course, you don’t have to eat every bit of the harvest this week.

Some of it can become future meals.

Put a Little Back: Sweet Corn — Today’s Corn, Tomorrow’s Meals

Sweet corn is a perfect example.

When it’s fresh and plentiful, you can enjoy some now and freeze some for later.

This post walks through the basic process for freezing whole-kernel sweet corn, including blanching, cooling, cutting the kernels from the cob, portioning, packaging, and labeling.

The goal isn’t to fill the freezer.

It’s to create useful portions of a food you already know you’ll eat.

Today’s corn becomes tomorrow’s ingredient.

When preserving food at home, always check current, tested recommendations for the specific food and preservation method you’re using. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is an excellent source for research-based home-preservation guidance.

📦 How Much Is Enough?

Once you start thinking about preserving food, another question naturally follows:

How much should I actually put away?

How Much Should You Actually Preserve?

The answer isn’t the same for everyone.

Someone cooking for one has different needs from a family of six. A person with a small freezer has different options from someone with a large chest freezer.

Your preservation plan should be based on:

  • What you actually eat
  • How often you eat it
  • How much you use at a time
  • How much you’ll continue buying fresh
  • How much storage space you have
  • How much time you have available for preservation

Think in meals and portions, not just pounds and bushels.

The goal isn’t the fullest pantry.

The goal is having enough of the foods you actually use.

🥣 Turn “Later” Into Dinner

And this is where the whole idea comes together.

Harvest Corn & Chicken Rice Bowls

Remember that sweet corn we put away?

Here’s one way to use it.

These rice bowls combine chicken, sweet corn, seasonal vegetables, and brown rice for a simple meal that works beautifully with either fresh corn or the frozen corn you saved earlier.

That’s the payoff of preservation.

You aren’t preserving food simply so you can say you preserved it.

You’re creating future meal ingredients.

A package of corn in the freezer becomes part of dinner.

🥚 And Don’t Forget What’s Already in the Refrigerator

Not every harvest meal needs to begin with a trip to the farm stand.

Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is look around your own kitchen.

Farm Stand Vegetable Frittata

A frittata is one of those wonderfully forgiving recipes that can turn a handful of vegetables into a real meal.

Zucchini.

Peppers.

Tomatoes.

Corn.

Onions.

Leftover roasted vegetables.

A few eggs can bring them all together.

It’s a particularly good recipe for the end of the week because it encourages us to use what we have rather than buying something new.

Good food doesn’t have to be complicated to be useful.

The “Put a Little Back” Philosophy

If there’s one idea I hope sticks with you from this week’s collection, it’s this:

You don’t have to preserve everything.

You don’t need a freezer packed to the ceiling.

You don’t need dozens of jars lined up in the pantry.

You don’t need to spend every weekend of harvest season working in the kitchen.

You simply need to recognize what makes sense for your household.

Maybe that’s a few bags of sweet corn.

Maybe it’s a batch of tomato sauce.

Maybe it’s some dehydrated vegetables for winter soups.

Maybe it’s nothing at all this week because you already have enough.

All of those choices are perfectly reasonable.

The purpose of preservation isn’t to create more work.

It’s to make good use of abundance.

Buy It at Its Peak. Use It Well.

That’s really the story of this entire week.

The farm stand is full.

You notice what’s plentiful.

You buy what you’ll actually use.

You cook some while it’s fresh.

You preserve a little when it makes sense.

And later, when you’re standing in the kitchen wondering what’s for dinner, you discover that your past self already did you a favor.

“Oh, good. I already have some.”

That’s one of my favorite benefits of putting food back.

It’s not about stockpiling.

It’s about cooking for your future self.

A Little Harvest Wisdom

There’s another benefit to thinking this way.

When you start looking at food in terms of use, storage, and future meals, you naturally become a little more aware of what you buy.

You notice what’s sitting in the refrigerator.

You think twice before buying more.

You find ways to use leftovers.

You learn which foods are worth preserving for your household—and which aren’t.

And that brings us right back to an old-fashioned idea that still makes plenty of sense:

Waste not, want not.

You don’t have to use every scrap perfectly every single time.

You just have to keep looking for ways to make good use of what you have.

Before You Preserve

Food preservation is one area where “that’s how I’ve always done it” isn’t necessarily enough.

Different foods require different preservation methods, and safe processing depends on the food, the method, and the recipe or procedure being used.

Before freezing, drying, or especially canning food, check current, tested guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

For broader food-safety and storage questions, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service provides additional guidance.

A few minutes spent checking current recommendations is worth it.

We’re putting food back because we want to enjoy it later—not because we want to take unnecessary chances with it.

Make September Work for You

You don’t have to follow every idea in this collection.

Pick the ones that fit your life.

Maybe you’re a regular farmers-market shopper.

Maybe you have a tiny refrigerator freezer.

Maybe you’re cooking for one.

Maybe you’re feeding two people and deliberately trying to keep grocery spending under control.

Maybe you simply hate throwing good food away.

Wherever you start, the principle is the same:

Buy what is good.
Use what you have.
Put a little back.
Enjoy it later.

That’s how we make the most of September’s harvest.

And that’s how today’s good food becomes tomorrow’s good meal.

Posted in Breakfast, Side Dishes, Skillet Meals

Farm Stand Vegetable Frittata

Posted on by simplegoodfood

A simple, colorful frittata for breakfast, lunch, or an easy meatless supper.

When the farm stand is overflowing with beautiful vegetables, sometimes the best recipe is the one that doesn’t ask you to choose just one.

This Farm Stand Vegetable Frittata brings together whatever looks freshest—zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions, corn, and fresh herbs—with eggs and a little cheese. Everything comes together in one oven-safe skillet for a meal that’s simple, satisfying, and wonderfully adaptable.

It’s also a great way to use those odds and ends of vegetables that aren’t quite enough for another recipe.

That’s farm stand cooking at its best: buy what’s good, use what you have, and waste as little as possible.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Flexible: Use the vegetables you have instead of making a special shopping trip.
  • Meatless: Eggs provide the protein while the vegetables bring color and flavor.
  • Small-batch friendly: Four servings makes this practical for singles and couples.
  • Good for any meal: Breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a light supper.
  • One skillet: Sauté the vegetables and bake the frittata in the same pan.
  • Budget-friendly: A few eggs and seasonal vegetables go a long way.
  • Great for leftovers: Refrigerate individual portions for easy breakfasts or lunches.

🥣 Build Your Bowl

Okay, this one isn’t technically a bowl—but the same “build it from what you have” philosophy applies.

Base:
Eggs and egg whites

Protein:
Eggs, with Greek yogurt adding a little extra protein

Vegetables:
Zucchini, bell pepper, onion, corn, and tomatoes

Sauce:
No sauce needed

Fresh Finish:
Fresh parsley or basil

Optional Toppings:
A little Parmesan, sliced avocado, or a spoonful of Greek yogurt

Make It Your Own:
Open the refrigerator and see what needs to be used. A frittata is one of the easiest ways to turn a handful of leftover vegetables into a real meal.

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Farm Stand Vegetable Fritatta

When the farm stand is full, make a frittata!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 285
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 large eggs
  • 4 large egg whites
  • ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ small onion diced
  • 1 small zucchini diced
  • ½ red bell pepper diced
  • ½ cup fresh or thawed frozen sweet corn
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or basil

Method
 

Preheat the oven.
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Prepare the egg mixture.
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning until well combined.
Sauté the vegetables.
  1. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2–3 minutes.Add the zucchini and corn and continue cooking for another 3–4 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the tomatoes and garlic.
  1. Stir in the tomatoes and garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
Add the eggs.
  1. Spread the vegetables evenly around the skillet. Pour the egg mixture over them and gently shake the skillet so the eggs settle around the vegetables.
Add the cheese.
  1. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.
Begin cooking on the stovetop.
  1. Cook without stirring for about 2 minutes, allowing the edges of the eggs to begin setting.
Finish in the oven.
  1. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 15–18 minutes, or until the center is set and the eggs reach 160°F.
Rest and garnish.
  1. Remove the skillet from the oven and let the frittata rest for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley or basil, slice into wedges, and serve.

Notes

Make It Your Own
This is one of those recipes where I actually want you to change it.
The vegetables listed here are simply a starting point.
Try:
  • Green beans instead of zucchini
  • Spinach instead of corn
  • Mushrooms instead of peppers
  • Roasted potatoes for a heartier frittata
  • Broccoli or cauliflower for extra vegetables
  • Fresh herbs instead of dried seasoning
  • A little Parmesan instead of shredded cheese
Just remember that vegetables with a lot of moisture—such as fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, or zucchini—should be cooked first so they don’t release too much liquid into the eggs.

What About Leftover Vegetables?

This is where I especially love a frittata.

Have half a bell pepper left from another recipe?

Use it.

A handful of cooked green beans?

Into the frittata they go.

A little leftover roasted zucchini?

Perfect.

A few tablespoons of corn?

Absolutely.

The vegetables don’t all have to be perfectly fresh from the farm stand. In fact, a frittata is one of those recipes that can help keep perfectly good food from becoming food waste.

Just make sure cooked leftovers have been stored safely and are still within their recommended refrigerated storage time.

Serving Suggestions

Serve a wedge of frittata with:

  • Fresh fruit
  • Whole-grain toast
  • A simple green salad
  • Roasted potatoes
  • Fresh tomatoes
  • A spoonful of Greek yogurt

For breakfast or brunch, fruit and whole-grain toast make an easy combination.

For lunch or dinner, add a salad and you’ve got a light, satisfying meal.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

Frittata is excellent for meal prep.

Once cooled, cut the leftovers into individual portions and refrigerate them in covered containers.

Reheat gently in the microwave or in a skillet until heated through.

For the best quality, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days.

You can also enjoy leftover frittata cold or at room temperature, making it a convenient option for a quick lunch.

A Farm Stand Recipe Without a Shopping List

There’s something I particularly like about this recipe.

It doesn’t send you to the grocery store with a list of twelve ingredients.

It sends you to the farm stand—or your own refrigerator—and says:

What looks good? What do I already have? What needs to be used?

That’s a pretty good way to cook.

And it’s exactly the mindset we’ve been talking about all week.

Buy what’s plentiful.

Enjoy it while it’s fresh.

Put a little back when it makes sense.

And use what you have.

Nutrition Estimate

Per serving: approximately 285 calories and 23g protein.

Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the specific ingredients and brands used.

Food Safety Note

Cook the frittata until the center reaches 160°F, measured with a food thermometer. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 3–4 days.

If you’re using previously cooked vegetables or other leftovers, make sure they have been stored safely and are still within their recommended storage time.

One Last Look at the Farm Stand

This week started with a simple idea:

When the farm stand is full, pay attention.

Not because you need to buy everything.

Because abundance gives you choices.

You can cook a skillet dinner with it.

You can freeze some sweet corn for later.

You can plan how much preservation actually makes sense for your household.

And you can take a handful of those beautiful vegetables and turn them into a frittata.

That’s the kind of seasonal cooking I love.

Simple food. Good ingredients. Nothing wasted. And plenty of room to make it your own.

Posted in Kitchen Tips

Put a Little Back: Sweet Corn — Today’s Corn, Tomorrow’s Meals

Posted on by simplegoodfood

There is something wonderfully satisfying about opening the freezer in January and finding a bag of sweet corn that you bought when the September harvest was at its peak.

Today’s corn becomes tomorrow’s dinner.

That’s the whole idea behind putting a little back.

You don’t have to preserve bushels of produce or spend an entire weekend filling a freezer. Sometimes a few ears of particularly good corn are all it takes to make a future meal a little easier—and a little more affordable.

And sweet corn is a great place to start.

Why Freeze Sweet Corn?

When sweet corn is plentiful, you may find it at a better price than you will later in the year. More importantly, corn that is frozen while it’s fresh and at its peak can retain much of the flavor and quality you loved when you bought it.

Freezing doesn’t magically make old produce fresh again, though.

The quality of the food going into the freezer matters.

If you have beautiful, fresh corn today, that’s the corn worth putting back.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends selecting tender, freshly gathered corn in the milk stage for freezing.

You Don’t Need to Freeze It on the Cob

While you certainly can freeze corn on the cob, I prefer whole-kernel corn for everyday cooking.

Why?

Because kernels are ready to use in so many meals.

A handful can go into:

  • Chicken and vegetable skillets
  • Rice bowls
  • Soups and stews
  • Casseroles
  • Fried rice
  • Quesadillas
  • Cornbread
  • Vegetable side dishes
  • Breakfast scrambles

That’s exactly what we’re after with our September preservation plan.

We’re not just preserving food.

We’re preserving future ingredients.

How to Freeze Sweet Corn

For the best quality, the National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends blanching whole-kernel corn before freezing. Blanching helps slow the enzyme activity that can cause vegetables to lose flavor, color, and texture during freezer storage.

Here’s the basic process.

1. Start With Fresh Corn

Choose fresh ears with plump kernels.

Husk the corn, remove the silk, trim the ends if needed, and wash the ears.

Don’t let beautiful corn sit around for days waiting for you to get to it. If you know you’re going to freeze it, work with it while it’s still fresh.

2. Blanch the Ears

Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil.

Place the ears into the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes for whole-kernel corn.

The blanching step is important. Under-blanching can actually encourage the enzyme activity you’re trying to stop, while over-blanching can negatively affect quality. Follow the recommended time rather than simply guessing.

3. Cool the Corn Quickly

As soon as the blanching time is complete, remove the corn and cool it promptly and completely.

An ice-water bath works well.

You want to stop the cooking process before the kernels become overcooked.

Drain the ears thoroughly.

4. Cut the Kernels From the Cob

Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cob.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends cutting about two-thirds of the depth of the kernels rather than scraping the cob.

A shallow baking dish or rimmed sheet pan can help catch the kernels as you work.

And don’t throw those cobs away just yet.

They can add a little extra flavor to a pot of soup or stock.

That’s the Waste Not, Want Not part of the process. 😉

5. Package It in Meal-Friendly Portions

This is where I think a little planning pays off.

Instead of putting all your corn into one enormous freezer bag, divide it into portions you’ll actually use.

For example:

  • 1 cup: quick side dish
  • 1½ cups: skillet meal or rice bowl
  • 2 cups: soup, casserole, or larger recipe

The right portion depends on how you cook.

If you’re cooking for one or two, smaller packages can save you from thawing more corn than you need.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends packaging whole-kernel corn, leaving ½ inch of headspace, then sealing and freezing.

6. Label Everything

Trust me on this one.

Write the food and date on every package.

“Corn” may seem obvious today.

Six months from now, when you’re staring into the freezer at several unidentified bags, you will be very glad you took thirty seconds to label them.

A simple label is enough:

Sweet Corn — September 2026

You can also add the quantity if you packaged it in measured portions.

Freeze It Quickly

For the best quality, freeze food as quickly as possible.

USDA guidance notes that rapid freezing produces smaller ice crystals, which helps protect the quality of frozen foods. A freezer should be maintained at 0°F or below for frozen food storage.

If you’re freezing several packages at once, spread them out rather than piling them together while they’re still warm. Once they’re frozen solid, you can organize them more efficiently.

What About Freezer Bags?

Freezer bags are perfectly practical for this kind of small-batch preservation.

The important thing is to use packaging designed for freezer storage and remove as much excess air as practical before sealing.

Air is the enemy of long-term quality because it contributes to freezer burn.

And here’s an important distinction:

Freezer burn doesn’t make food unsafe.

It does, however, damage quality and can leave food dry and leathery in spots. Good packaging helps prevent it.

How Much Should You Freeze?

Here’s where I want to resist the temptation to give you a number.

There is no magic amount of corn that everyone should preserve.

If you’re cooking for one, six ears might be plenty.

If you’re cooking for two, perhaps you’ll want enough for several future meals.

If you have a large freezer and use corn constantly, you may want more.

The right amount is the amount you will actually use.

That’s an important part of putting food back.

We’re not trying to win a preservation contest.

We’re trying to make our future lives a little easier.

And that’s exactly what we’ll talk about tomorrow: How Much Should You Actually Preserve?

Today’s Corn, Tomorrow’s Meals

This is my favorite part of the whole idea.

You bought the corn when it was fresh and plentiful.

You prepared it while it was still at its best.

You put a few portions in the freezer.

And now you’ve created future meal ingredients without having to buy them again.

A few weeks from now, that corn might become part of a quick skillet dinner.

In the middle of winter, it might brighten up a soup.

Or it might become the star of a simple rice bowl.

In fact, that’s exactly where we’re headed later this week.

Friday’s Harvest Corn & Chicken Rice Bowls will put some of today’s “tomorrow” corn to work.

That’s the beauty of preserving food in small batches.

You don’t have to think of it as stocking up.

Think of it as making dinner for your future self.

A Note About Safe Food Preservation

Freezing vegetables is different from canning them, and the safety rules are different, too.

For freezing, use current, tested preservation guidance for preparation and blanching times. For canning, especially with low-acid vegetables such as corn, use tested pressure-canning instructions rather than adapting a recipe or guessing at processing times. The National Center for Home Food Preservation identifies corn as a low-acid food that requires pressure canning when canned as plain whole-kernel corn.

When you’re preserving food, check the USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance before you begin. A few minutes spent checking current recommendations is worth it for the safety and quality of the food you’re putting away.

Put a Little Back

You don’t need a pantry full of jars or a freezer packed to the ceiling.

Sometimes putting a little back means buying a few extra ears of sweet corn when they’re beautiful and plentiful.

Enjoy some tonight.

Freeze some for later.

And then, sometime when fresh corn is no longer piled high at the farm stand, open the freezer and remember:

Today’s harvest just became tomorrow’s meal.

That’s a pretty good kind of food insurance.

Posted in Skillet Meals

Harvest Chicken & Vegetable Skillet

Posted on by simplegoodfood

A colorful one-skillet dinner that makes the most of September’s harvest.

When the farm stand is full of beautiful vegetables, this is exactly the kind of meal I want to make.

Tender pieces of chicken are cooked with sweet corn, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes for a simple skillet dinner that tastes like the best of late summer and early fall. A little garlic and Italian seasoning are all you need to bring everything together.

It’s colorful, filling, budget-friendly, and—best of all—there’s only one skillet to wash.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • One skillet: Everything cooks together, making cleanup easy.
  • Harvest-friendly: Perfect for using whatever fresh vegetables look best this week.
  • High in protein: Chicken makes this a satisfying main dish.
  • Mildly seasoned: Plenty of flavor without making the dish overly spicy.
  • Flexible: Swap in whatever seasonal vegetables you already have.
  • Small-batch friendly: Makes four servings, so it works well for singles and couples with leftovers for another meal.
  • Budget-conscious: Seasonal vegetables help stretch a modest amount of chicken.
simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Harvest Chicken & Vegetable Skillet

Tender pieces of chicken are cooked with sweet corn, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes for a simple skillet dinner that tastes like the best of late summer and early fall.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini diced
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese optional

Method
 

Prepare the chicken.
  1. Pat the chicken dry and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Season lightly with the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Brown the chicken.
  1. Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for about 5–7 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Cook the vegetables.
  1. Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the zucchini and corn and continue cooking for another 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes and garlic.
  1. Stir in the tomatoes and garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, just until the garlic becomes fragrant and the tomatoes begin to soften.
Bring it together.
  1. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Pour in the chicken broth and stir everything together.
Finish cooking.
  1. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has reduced slightly.
Finish and serve.
  1. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and, if desired, Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Notes

Make It Your Own

This skillet is intentionally flexible.
Use yellow squash instead of zucchini, add a handful of spinach, substitute green beans for the bell pepper, or toss in leftover roasted vegetables. If tomatoes aren’t looking their best, a few spoonfuls of drained canned diced tomatoes work, too.
You can also change the seasoning to match what you have on hand. A little dried basil or parsley works beautifully here.

Serving Suggestions

This is a complete meal on its own, but you can stretch it a little further by serving it over:

  • Brown rice
  • Quinoa
  • Barley
  • Whole-grain pasta
  • Cauliflower rice

For a lighter meal, serve it with a simple green salad or a piece of whole-grain bread.

A Little Leftover Magic

Don’t overlook the leftovers!

The chicken and vegetables can be refrigerated and reheated for another lunch or dinner. They can also become the starting point for a rice bowl, wrap, or quick quesadilla.

And if you’re following along with our September “Put a Little Back” theme, this is also a good reminder of why preserving seasonal produce can be worthwhile. Today’s harvest doesn’t have to stay today’s dinner.

Nutrition Estimate

Per serving, without optional Parmesan: approximately 330 calories and 37g protein.

Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the specific ingredients and brands used.

Food Safety Note

Cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165°F as measured with a food thermometer. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 3–4 days.

Posted in Kitchen Tips

Smart Shopper Spotlight: What to Buy When It’s in Season

Posted on by simplegoodfood

September can be one of the best months for grocery shopping.

The summer harvest is still rolling in, fall crops are beginning to appear, and farm stands and farmers markets can be overflowing with fresh produce. When there’s plenty of something available, that’s often a good time to buy it.

But “in season” isn’t just about buying whatever happens to look good.

For a smart shopper, it’s about finding the sweet spot between quality, price, quantity, and what you can actually use.

Why Seasonal Shopping Can Save Money

When a crop is abundant, there is generally more of it available. That can mean better prices, particularly when you’re buying directly from a farm stand or farmers market.

It also means you can often buy produce at its freshest.

That’s a win—but only if you actually use it.

A bargain isn’t a bargain if half of it ends up in the trash.

That’s why seasonal shopping works especially well when you pair it with a little meal planning and, when appropriate, preservation.

Buy what is plentiful. Plan how you’ll use it. Preserve what makes sense.

That’s the basic strategy.

What to Look for in September

What’s actually in season varies by where you live, so your local farm stand is always the best guide.

But September is commonly a great time to look for things like:

  • 🌽 Sweet corn
  • 🍅 Tomatoes
  • 🫑 Peppers
  • 🥒 Zucchini and summer squash
  • 🥔 Potatoes
  • 🧅 Onions
  • 🥕 Carrots
  • 🫘 Green beans
  • 🍎 Apples
  • 🍐 Pears
  • 🎃 Early fall squash

You don’t need to buy all of them.

In fact, please don’t.

Choose the things that fit the meals you already enjoy.

Buy Extra When the Price Is Right

Here’s where seasonal shopping gets particularly interesting.

Suppose you normally buy four ears of corn for dinner. The farm stand has beautiful corn at a particularly good price, and you know your family—or in my case, your future self—will enjoy corn later in the year.

That’s when buying extra might make sense.

Enjoy some fresh.

Put some away.

Now you’re not just shopping for tonight’s dinner. You’re shopping for a future dinner, too.

The same thinking can apply to other produce that is suitable for safe preservation.

But there’s an important distinction:

Don’t preserve something simply because it’s cheap. Preserve it because you have a plan for using it.

The Three-Question Test

Before buying a large quantity of anything, ask yourself three questions:

1. Will I use it?

This is the most important question.

Think about the meals you actually eat—not the meals you imagine you might make someday.

If you love corn, buying extra corn makes sense.

If you’re not particularly fond of zucchini, a crate of zucchini isn’t suddenly going to become a good purchase because it’s inexpensive.

2. Do I have room for it?

Fresh produce takes up space.

So does frozen produce.

So do jars, dehydrated foods, and everything else you put away.

Check your refrigerator, freezer, pantry, and storage space before buying enough produce to stock a small grocery store.

3. Do I have time to deal with it?

This one is easy to overlook.

Buying ten pounds of tomatoes sounds like a wonderful idea until you realize that ten pounds of tomatoes now need your attention.

Preserving food takes time.

Freezing may require blanching and cooling. Dehydrating takes time. Canning requires preparation and careful attention to tested processing instructions.

Know what you’re getting yourself into before you bring it home.

Fresh Doesn’t Mean You Have to Eat It All Today

One of the great advantages of seasonal shopping is that some foods can have a life beyond the week you bought them.

That’s where putting a little back comes in.

You might freeze some sweet corn while it’s plentiful.

You might dehydrate vegetables for future meals.

You might preserve certain high-acid foods using a tested canning method.

Or you might simply buy enough fresh produce to get you through the next week without another grocery-store trip.

Preservation doesn’t have to mean filling every available shelf.

Sometimes putting a little back really does mean a little.

A Smart Shopper’s Harvest Basket

If I were heading to the farm stand this week, I’d think about my basket in three categories:

For tonight:
Something that can become dinner right away.

For this week:
Produce that can work its way into several meals.

For later:
A small amount of something that’s worth preserving because it’s plentiful, affordable, and something I’ll actually use.

That approach keeps the shopping trip from becoming overwhelming.

It also helps prevent the classic “I bought too much because everything looked so good” problem.

And yes, September farm stands make that problem particularly easy to have. 😉

Don’t Forget to Check What You Already Have

Before you leave for the market, take a quick inventory at home.

What’s already in the refrigerator?

What’s in the freezer?

What needs to be used?

What pantry staples can turn a few fresh vegetables into a complete meal?

This is where seasonal shopping and the Waste Not, Want Not mindset work beautifully together.

You don’t have to start every meal from scratch.

Sometimes the smartest purchase is the one that completes something you already have.

Buy at the Peak. Use It Well.

Seasonal shopping isn’t about chasing the lowest possible price or buying the largest possible quantity.

It’s about recognizing when something is plentiful and making that abundance work for you.

Buy what you love.

Buy what you’ll use.

Buy enough to make the price worthwhile—but not so much that you’re creating work or waste.

And when something is especially good and plentiful?

Enjoy some now. Put a little back for later.

That’s smart shopping at harvest time.

A September Reminder

As we talk about freezing, dehydrating, and canning throughout this month, remember that safe food preservation depends on the food and the preservation method.

For canning in particular, use current, tested recipes and processing recommendations from a reliable source such as the USDA rather than relying on an old family recipe or guessing at processing times.

The goal isn’t simply to save food.

It’s to save it safely—so today’s harvest really can become tomorrow’s meal.

Posted in Kitchen Tips

When the Farm Stand is Full

Posted on by simplegoodfood

There is something special about a September farm stand.

The tables seem to get fuller by the day. Corn is piled high. Tomatoes are still hanging on. Peppers, zucchini, onions, potatoes, carrots, and all sorts of late-summer vegetables are competing for your attention.

It is the kind of abundance that makes you want to bring home a little bit of everything.

And honestly? That isn’t always a bad idea.

September is one of the best times of year to take advantage of what’s plentiful and affordable right now. But the trick is knowing what to do with all that goodness once you get it home.

That’s where a little planning—and a little old-fashioned common sense—comes in.

Buy What’s Good Now

When something is plentiful, it often means two things: it’s at its peak, and there is a lot of it available.

That can be good news for your grocery budget.

Instead of buying vegetables simply because you have a recipe that calls for them, September is a good time to look at what’s actually abundant where you shop. If sweet corn is piled up at the farm stand, that’s your cue to enjoy some now and consider putting a little away for later.

If tomatoes are plentiful, make sauce, salsa, or a simple tomato dish.

If zucchini is practically giving itself away, buy what you can realistically use—and perhaps freeze some for a future meal.

The goal isn’t to bring home the entire farm stand.

It’s to recognize an opportunity.

Don’t Buy More Than You Can Manage

There is a fine line between taking advantage of abundance and creating your own kitchen emergency.

We’ve all done it.

You see beautiful produce at a great price and think, I’ll figure out what to do with it.

Then three days later, you’re staring at a refrigerator full of vegetables wondering when you’re going to find the time to deal with them.

So before you buy, ask yourself a few simple questions:

  • How much can I realistically use this week?
  • What can I cook right away?
  • Can I freeze, dehydrate, or otherwise preserve some of it?
  • Do I have the storage space?
  • Is the savings worth the work involved?

Those questions can turn an impulse purchase into a smart one.

Think Beyond This Week’s Dinner

One of the best things about buying produce at its peak is that you don’t necessarily have to eat all of it immediately.

Some foods can be preserved so that today’s abundance becomes part of a meal weeks or months from now.

That’s the idea behind putting a little back.

You don’t need a basement full of shelves lined with jars to preserve food. You don’t even have to preserve an enormous quantity.

A few bags of frozen sweet corn can become a quick side dish.

A container of frozen vegetables can become part of a soup or skillet meal.

Dried vegetables can become ingredients in a pantry meal.

And a small batch of something preserved today can make a future dinner just a little easier.

That’s a pretty good return on a little time spent in the kitchen.

September Is About Making the Most of What We Have

Around here, September isn’t about buying every gadget, filling every shelf, or spending an entire weekend preserving fifty pounds of vegetables.

It’s about being practical.

Buy what’s good.

Buy what’s affordable.

Enjoy some now.

Put a little back for later.

And use what you already have before buying something else.

That last part matters, too. Before heading to the market, take a quick look through your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. You may already have half of what you need for a meal.

September’s harvest gives us a chance to be intentional about all of it.

We’re going to spend this month looking at different ways to take advantage of seasonal abundance—from freezing and dehydrating to simply planning meals around what’s available.

And we’re going to keep one important idea in mind:

Preserving food isn’t about preserving everything. It’s about preserving what makes sense for you.

So when the farm stand is full, take a good look.

Enjoy the abundance.

Buy what you’ll use.

And if there’s something especially good—and especially plentiful—maybe put a little back.

Because today’s harvest can make tomorrow’s dinner a whole lot easier.