Kristin visits with Michelle Wheeler of River Bend Family Farm in Scottsville for a session of Kentucky Farms, Kentucky Flavor. In this episode we learn a little more about River Bend Family Farm.
My family has been farming in northern Indiana since they came over from Germany and England in the early years of our nation. I grew up on a grain farm where we grew seed corn, sweet corn, beans, and alfalfa/brome grass hay under center pivots. I am the middle daughter of three girls, and we worked with our parents baling and stacking hay, driving tractors, and doing the daily work of a farm. I was very involved in 4-H and decided to major in Agribusiness Economics at Southern Illinois University. After college I worked in crop protection in the midwest for DowElanco and Zeneca, where I loved being in the field working with my retail and grower customers. Once we had children, our two agricultural career household decided that David would be the primary career and I did contract work in the crop protection business to be able to maintain my skills and contacts, while being able to enjoy staying home with our three children. In 2014, we finally were able to purchase 132 acres of our own, after living in Briarwood Subdivision for 14 years. My love for growing and preserving flowers and vegetables goes back to my Grandmother, so in an effort to try to produce an income stream to offset the debt load we took on, we decided I would try growing vegetables on a small scale to offer to CSA customers. We have added cut flowers and this year our pumpkin patch.
Joanna shows us how to make a delicious Tex Mex Spaghetti Squash Casserole.
Spaghetti squash is low in calories. One cup raw squash contains 42 calories. It contains vitamin C, potassium and calcium. It is naturally free of fat and cholesterol. Choose squash that is a creamy to deep yellow in color. Look for hard skinned, evenly colored squash without blemishes or ridges. Avoid squash that are tinged with green as they are not mature. Spaghetti squash can be stored at room temperature for up to one month. Longer if stored in a cool, dry, dark location. Do not wash before storing. The recipe is as followed:
1 small (about 2 pounds) spaghetti squash, 1 pound lean ground beef, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup chopped bell pepper, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoons dried cumin, ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes, 1 (4 to 5 ounces) can chopped mild green chilies, 1 ½ cups low fat cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the squash by carefully cutting it in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and scooping out the seeds. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cut-side down and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a sharp knife can be easily inserted into the rind. Remove the squash from the oven and cool. Use a fork to scrape out the stringy flesh from the shell and place in a colander. Press out as much liquid as possible. Place squash in a medium bowl and keep warm. In a skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until browned. Add the onion, red bell pepper and garlic. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Drain well and set aside. In a small bowl combine the chopped tomatoes and green chilies. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with non-stick coating. Layer half of the spaghetti squash in the bottom of the pan. Spread half the meat mixture on top of the squash. Layer half of the tomatoes and chilies on top of the meat and top with half of the cheese. Repeat the layers. Bake at 350 degrees F until the casserole is hot all the way through and the cheese is bubbly, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.
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