Summertime in the... city? (Making squash puree to last through the winter)

I'm a country girl. It's not a secret that I ran around in my undies during the summer as a kid, shucked more than my share of corn and didn't care if I had dirty black feet.

I miss the country. Now I live in the city, and let me tell you... it's a MAJOR adjustment. Even eight years after leaving the country, I still miss sleeping with the windows open to hear the frogs and crickets. I still miss the smell of cut grains. And I REALLY miss my momma's cooking.

Yesterday, I drove with Coco and Mabel out to my brother's house. They've planted a HUGE garden and graciously allow the family to get what they want. And it's right across the street from where I grew up, so DEFINITELY gives me a little taste of the country even when I live in the city, with neighbors practically up my nose and music blaring as cars fly up and down the street.

While there, I picked a ton of squash, and my sister-in-law picked me a bag too! Yes, I came home with TWO bags full of squash. NO way my little family of four will be able to eat all that squash before it goes bad, right?

Wrong.

I use squash in a million things. The kids get it in smoothies - little buggers just THINK they aren't eating their veggies - and I even made a squash casserole yesterday. And I STILL have squash leftover. Part of it will get sliced and frozen as is, part will find it's way into fried squash at dinnertime tomorrow. The rest? It was made into a squash puree that will get used in homemade chicken nuggets, cakes, smoothies and more.

Make squash puree:

Wash and cut your squash into cubes and put it in a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.

Drain and add your squash to the blender. Blend until smooth.

Allow squash to cool and measure into 1 cup servings.

Separate your puree into freezer bags. Get out as much air as possible and close. Don't forget to mark the serving amount and the date.

Freeze flat like this so you can store it easily without taking up a lot of space in the freezer. Use the best freezer bags you can find. The squash will keep in the freezer like this for six months in good freezer bags. In cheaper bags, it'll only keep for about 3 months.

Coming in the next few days... recipes using squash puree. :)