Locally Grown. . . at Walmart! (Sausage with Apples and Onions Recipe)

Did you know that Walmart has locally grown items? That’s right, you can buy fruits, vegetables and even meats grown or raised within your own state at Walmart!

What are the benefits of purchasing locally sourced items?  Well, here are 5 great reasons!

1-It supports the local economy.  The money spent stays closer to home and is more likely to be reinvested in the local community.

2-It is full flavored.  Crops grown locally are not picked early for shipment–they are picked at their peak ripeness, and can be in store as soon as 24 hours after harvest.

3-It has more nutrients.  Nutrients start being lost as soon as produce is harvested.  Shortening the time between harvest and the table means more nutrients are still in your food.

4-You eat seasonally.  Items purchased from a local grower can only be produced in season–there aren’t any NY strawberries in December.  Seasonal eating encourages variety in your diet and makes you savor items far more when they are available.

5-It’s benefiting the environment.  Less food miles means less resources used and a smaller carbon footprint.  More farmlands mean more green and open spaces in communities.

Walmart sent me (and the rest of the Walmart Moms) in store to check out the variety of locally grown products  available.  I thought this was a great idea, as I really support the whole locally grown initiative.

There was just one problem.

This is what the local farmers fields look like in May:

That’s right, it’s a newly plowed field.  Many fields are not even plowed yet, and don’t even talk about planting–that won’t start for a couple weeks.  We have gotten a couple of hard frosts in the last week.  You just can’t plant much in NY before Memorial Day.

But never fear, I did find some locally grown produce in store:

New York grown onions, and about 4 different kinds of New York grown apples!  These are actually fall crops that store extremely well.

So what to make?  Well apples and onions immediately make me think of the book from the Little House on the Prairie series “Farmer Boy”, which is about Almanzo Wilder’s life on their Upstate NY farm as a child (before they moved West).

He knelt on the ice, pushing sawdust into the cracks with his mittened hands, and pounding it down with a stick as fast as he could, and he asked Royal,

‘What would you like best to eat?’

They talked about spareribs, and turkey with dressing, and baked beans, and crackling cornbread, and other good things. But Almanzo said that what he liked most in the world was fried apples ‘n’ onions.

When, at last, they went in to dinner, there on the table was a big dish of them! Mother knew what he liked best, and she had cooked it for him.–Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder

I’ve always wondered about that dish, so I decided to try it out!  I found a nice looking recipe for Sausage Apples and Onions on AllRecipes to try out.

It was very simple to make.  Saute your sausage.  Saute together the apples and onions.  Season with some salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar.  Serve.

The meal was interesting, very fall flavored.  I don’t know that I would ever call it my favorite, but it was a nice change of pace.  I think maybe it would have been a bit more complex if I had used a bit of bacon with the apples and onions as a side dish instead, and perhaps used a tart green apple like a Granny Smith.

What kinds of locally grown produce do you have at your Walmart?  I’d love to hear. And of course you can check out what some of the other Walmart Moms in different parts of the country made.

Lynnae made some Easy Asian Lettuce Wraps with organic ground beef raised right there in Oregon.

Liz used local asparagus and potatoes in a lovely grilled side dish.

Tina used Texas grown cherry tomatoes in her Couscous Salad with Grilled Chicken

Melanie’s Easy Red Potato Salad was made with Florida grown potatoes.

Linsey use Nebraska grown chives and potatoes for her Danish Browned Butter Potatoes with Chives

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.