We’ve had a wonderful harvest of green beans this summer! Whether it’s garden harvest or fresh beans from the grocery store, I’ve grown to prefer fresh beans over canned or frozen beans (although canned or frozen beans are perfectly fine to eat!)
Fresh green beans are pretty easy to prepare; they take just a little time to cook. Simply break off the end of the beans and break the beans into the size you want. This is a great project for your kids to help with. I’ve had many conversations with my kids over the years as we sat together breaking fresh beans!
Once, the beans are broken, boil them in salted water for 20-30 minutes, based upon the tenderness you prefer. I usually start testing them at 20 minutes with a fork.
The key to yummy green beans is adding bacon grease. I know it sounds odd to say that…but it makes a ton of difference! We now buy the Naked Bacon brand of bacon because it contains no sugar, nitrates, phosphates, or preservatives. It’s definitely more expensive, but if we’re going to do bacon, we’re choosing a healthier option.
Every time we make bacon, I throw the grease in a glass jar and put it in the freezer. I just keep adding more grease to the glass jar until it’s full. When I make green beans, I add a couple of heaping tablespoons of the bacon grease to the beans. So yummy!
How about you? How do you prepare fresh green beans?
