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Southern Green Beans

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Southern Green Beans

Southern Green Beans

Southern green bean recipes differ from cook to cook – often in the same family! For example, if my grandmother or mom had known I’d one day grow up to put chicken broth in my green beans, they’d have passed out Old-Hollywood-style.

But, what can I say? Years ago, when I saw how much FLAVOR adding chicken broth to rice created, I began experimenting and, lo and behold, it adds a beautiful flavor to almost anything.

Including green beans.

Naturally, if you want to go with all water (as opposed to half water/half broth), go for it. They’re your beans, after all!

I love to add a little dash of red pepper flakes toward the end – if you go easy, the heat is barely noticeable. It adds a new level of flavor without setting your tongue on fire. I’ve never tried this recipe with canned beans, so I have no idea how they’d turn out. Buying fresh takes a little more time (since they don’t snip or snap themselves), but it is SO worth it.

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Southern Green Beans

Southern Green Beans

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs green beans (ends snipped and snapped in half)
  • 5 slices bacon, diced
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tstp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp onion powder
  • (optional) a few shakes of red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Fry the bacon until crisp.
  2. Remove the bacon (but keep it!) from the pan, reserving the grease.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bacon grease.
  4. Bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  6. When ready to serve, crumble half the bacon on top and gently stir. Place the rest of the bacon on top - you know, for a picture-worthy display!

Southern Green Beans


Bean Salad with Grape Tomatoes and Chopped Artichoke Hearts

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Bean Salad with Sliced Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes

My Favorite Bean Salad Recipe

14.5 oz can Del Monte Blue Lake Cut Green Beans
14.5 oz can Del Monte Cut Golden Wax beans
14.5  oz can dark red kidney beans
1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 jar (unflavored) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
sliced cherry or grape tomatoes (however many you want)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
Kosher salt and pepper

Drain all of the beans well. Combine all ingredients and season with as much salt and pepper as you personally prefer.  I’ve listed Kosher Salt in the ingredients, but sea salt or any salt will do nicely. I simply have an obsession with Kosher salt, that’s all!

If you like your bean salad a little less sweet, feel free to use less sugar when you make your’s. I, admittedly, have quite the sweet tooth and may, or may not, typically use more than the 1/2 I own up to above.

Also, feel free to replace the sliced artichoke hearts with celery or bell peppers – whatever floats your boat.

Like all recipes, making them your own is where the fun’s at, so sub in, sub out, or use as is!

Allow your bean salad to “marinate” in the refrigerator, preferably, for a few hours before serving. It’s actually even better if you can allow the flavors to blend overnight – but it isn’t necessary.

Del Monte Canned Vegetables

 

I was recently sent a bunch of cans of Del Monte Vegetables to test out in recipes and I’m over the moon. Del Monte was a favorite brand before they were so cool and generous to me, and now they’re even MORE of a favorite.

While the “traditional” favorites – whole kernel corn, green beans (all varieties), mixed vegetables, beets, etc – are always in my pantry, I’ve fallen hard for a few new Del Monte canned foods. Have you seen their Southwest Corn with Poblano & Red Peppers or their French Style Green Beans with Roasted Garlic yet?

SO GOOD!

The corn is perfect for Taco Night and it adds a lot of personality to tossed salads, too (just drain and pop right into the salad bowl). The French Style Green Beans with Roasted Garlic is a must with mashed potatoes and I can’t wait to try it out in a green bean casserole recipe bouncing around in my head.

Check your store for these and other new Del Monte foods (click the link to see a few others – I haven’t tried them yet, but they look promising!).

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

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Make the Bread, Buy the ButterI was recently sent a copy of Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch — Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods to review.

As someone who loves books, I’m always ecstatic to get a new book. As someone who’s almost always cooking and baking, a food-related book makes the ecstasy even sweeter. Finally, as someone who (like everyone else) is trying to make her dollar stretch as far as it can without ripping, I appreciated the fact that this book didn’t just have FUN on its mind. It also has FRUGALITY in mind.

Great news.

When author Jennifer Reese lost her job, she was introduced to a whole new reality. She had to look at things differently, including the food she bought. She had never before considered making her own peanut butter and pita bread, let alone curing her own prosciutto or raising turkeys.  Although she KNEW that making-it-yourself, and even growing-it-yourself made sense economically, she had her reservations. After all, could she really pull it off?!

Jennifer marched into her kitchen and began the first of many experiments. Ultimately, she found that some things are cheaper to make and some are cheaper to buy.

She considers the average, everyday American family life as she answers the following questions: When is homemade better? Cheaper? Are backyard eggs a more ethical choice than store-bought? Will grinding and stuffing your own sausage ruin your week? Is it possible to make an edible maraschino cherry?

A few of her fun discoveries: Although you should make your hot dog buns, guacamole, and yogurt, you should probably buy your hamburger buns, potato chips, and rice pudding. Tired? Buy your mayonnaise. Inspired? Make it.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter includes 120 recipes with money-saving and  practical “Make or buy” recommendations.  It’s a lot of fun to read about the author’s adventures. She writes with a lively sense of humor that leaves you wishing the book were longer than it actually is.   You’re sure to get a kick out of her food and animal husbandry adventures.  If you’re like me, you’ll also find yourself wanting your own chicken coup, goats, and maybe a cow.  Fresh eggs and milk – right out the back door? Sign me up!

Some of the recipes you’ll find in this fun and frugal book are:

  • Homemade Beef Jerky
  • Canadian Bacon
  • Baked Beans (recipe below)
  • Mozzarella
  • Ricotta
  • Whipped Cream
  • Ginger Ale (can’t wait to try this simple recipe!)
  • White Mountain Frosting
  • Birthday Cake from Scratch
  • Vanilla Ice Cream
  • Chocolate Pudding
  • Homemade Oreo Cookies
  • Fig Bars
  • Olive Pasta
  • Sweet-Hot Pickle Relish
  • Many, many more!

With each recipe, the author provides a cost comparison. You’ll see how much it costs to make the recipe yourself as compared to the most popular brands of store-bought products.

Homemade Baked Beans

( Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, page 169)
1 pound dried navy beans
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
1/2 pound salt pork, cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 apple, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

  1. Soak the beans overnight in water to cover.
  2. Drain the beans. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the salt pork.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. (You can use a bean pot to make this, but it generates fewer dishes to use the Dutch oven in which you fry the pork.)
  4.  To the fried pork, add the beans and all the other ingredients.  Stir well and add 6 cups of water.
  5. Bake for 3 to 4 hours, replenishing water as necessary. Midway through the cooking, taste for salt and adjust.  When they’re done, the beans should be very soft, but not falling apart.  Serve immediately or cool and store for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Makes 2-1/2 quarts beans, to serve 10.

Take a closer look at Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch — Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods on Amazon.