I think this thread was aimed more at admiring and enjoying wildlife in our gardens, so I hope you’ll forgive me. But I put something similar here before and people seemed to enjoy it.
ANYWAY, the wildlife in my orchard today was a squirrel, and like many of you, I’m completely FED UP with these little thieves. So, in the ultimate act of revenge, I decided that instead of providing his dinner, I’d let him provide me mine! ha.
I made him into the best stew EVER. Almost every single thing in the stew (exceptions noted) was grown by me in my garden, and its an extensive list. Most were from my freezer but several were actually picked today. This stew contained : Tomatoes, Green peppers, Onions, corn, regular green beans, Chinese Long beans, turnip greens, dried Pinto beans (not mine), white potato, sweet potatoes, garlic (not mine), yellow squash, celery (not mine), carrots, and some peas and a nice squirrel. Yes, its a ridiculous number of ingredients but I was just going through my garden and then freezer and throwing it all in! And it works! ha.
I also added a little red wine and apple cider vinegar (small amount, but I think it adds a lot of body) and even a tiny bit of sugar (I know that doesn’t sound good but it adds a lot to me). Spices were an Italian blend (Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme) along with salt and pepper. The real flavor comes from the veggies, and its great.
If you’ve never cooked with squirrel, you really should try it! I know many people see it as a glorified rat, but lots of people have hunted and eaten squirrels as long as they’ve existed and they truly are delicious if properly prepared. Google "squirrel recipes and you’ll find thousands of them. Putting them in a crock pot is by far the best way IMHO.
The first photo shows the stew veggies and the meat (complete with bullet hole! ha) right before I turned the crock pot on. The second photo shows what it all looks like 8 hours later. All I did was stir it a few times…the meat honestly does just fall off the bone. So at the end I just picked out the big bones and dipped out a bowl of goodness. Try it…a great way to thin out your pest population AND making good use of this natural resource at the same time. But most of all, its just WONDERFUL FOOD. This stew and some crusty bread on a cold winter day will have you feeling different about those pesky squirrels! 
Before the cooking starts- raw ingredients:
After 8 hours in the slow cooker, ready to eat with some crusty bread. mmmm. Get over those food prejudices…squirrel may be the other other white meat! 
