Snap the stem ends of the green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you’d like. Just don’t tell Granny. Melt bacon grease in a skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize. Have a wooden spoon handy to protect your fair share.

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PW’s Fresh Green Beans Printable Recipe

Okay, I have to get something off my chest. YUM. YUM YUM YUM. YUM. *Groan* *Ugh* YUM.

I’m back now. Sorry. But I just had to release the sounds and emotions I felt when I first tasted these deliciously simple green beans. Yum. Did I say that already? I think I did.

It’s green bean season, which means either your garden is bursting with them or your local grocery store has piles and piles of them for you to grab at will. I love fresh green beans—also known as “string beans” or “snap beans”—and while they’re totally versatile, it’s sometimes hard to know what to do with them beyond just cooking them in a pot of water. I love preparing the crisp little babies in a skillet with delicious ingredients, allowing them to cook down and become both colorful and slightly caramelized. To me, that brings out the natural culinary beauty of a green bean much more than allowing it to become soggy in a bunch of liquid.

My homegirl Hyacinth make these with me last week, so you’ll be seeing her petite, lovely hands in the photos. I want her hands to be mine, and I’m trying to figure out how I can make that happen.

You’ll need a bunch of fresh green beans. Just go to the store, grab a big, sweaty handful, and put them into a bag. For this recipe, I used about a pound.

When you’re ready to cook ’em, just wash ’em and begin snapping off the ends, removing the tough string if one is present.

I used to wonder—and still do wonder somewhat—why you can’t just grab a big handful of beans, line them up, and chop off the ends with a sharp knife? Why spend the time snapping them? Is it just to feel old fashioned and traditional? Or is there some practical benefit to snapping the end? I think it might be so that one can tear off the tough string if one is present…but I’d prefer to think of the whole thing as a conspiracy to cause homemakers to spend as much time as possible in the kitchen. It’s all a conspiracy, I know it! The next thing they’ll want us to do is tie a grosgrain ribbon in our hair and wear an eyelet apron. And bring our husbands his slippers when he walks in the door. And call him “dear.”

Okay, so I already do that stuff. But only because I want to.

So anyway, snap off the end if you must. Hyacinth would like me to tell you that she does it that way because Granny did.

Hyacinth is such a follower.





Some people snap off both ends, but it isn’t necessary.





And that’s it! That’s how I make my fresh green beans. Now go feed them to your family and ENJOY!

Goodbye.

Oh, I just love doing that.

Okay, you’re also going to want to chop up some red bell pepper and onion. We used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of red pepper and 1 cup onion.





Begin by plopping about 2 tablespoons bacon grease in a skillet over medium low – medium heat. Yes, I said bacon grease. Yes, I said bacon grease. I’m sorry, but it tastes magical and there’s just nothing like it. But if you’d prefer to stay away from its grasp, use 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. The butter will provide some nice color and flavor.

But I think you should use bacon grease. If for no other reason than none of your neighbors are. It’s important to be different!





Next, chop or press 2 cloves of garlic and add it to the skillet. Note the tiny bits of bacon that were present in the bacon grease. Yikes. Is that even legal?





Then add in the onion, stirring around and cooking it for a moment.





Now add the green beans…





1 cup of chicken broth…





And the red pepper.





Stir it around…





Then add 1/2 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Hyacinth used 1 teaspoon and it was plenty salty…but that was part of what made it so good. Also add in some black pepper to taste.

NOW—important: Turn the heat to low/medium low and cover with a lid, but CRACK THE LID so the steam escapes. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the liquid totally evaporates and the beans are fairly soft, but still have a bit of a bite to them. Don’t be afraid to let the chicken broth cook away, because the onions and beans will begin to caramelize, which means flavor-flavor-flavor!





Here’s what they looked like about 15 minutes into cooking. Notice the chicken broth has fled the scene.





And here’s the finished product. Absolutely, positively delicious, and I ain’t lyin’. The beans were definitely cooked but still slightly crisp, and the onions and red pepper were caramelized and beautiful. And the flavor of the bacon grease was definitely there.





Here was a surprising development: our kids—all seven of the little punk whippersnappers—loved them. They gathered around the platter one by one and soon it was a mass of kid fingers, grabbing individual green beans as if their lives depended on it. Marlboro Man even joined in the swarm.

Then I grabbed a wooden spoon and began rapping knuckles. Hey, I wouldn’t have gotten my fair share otherwise. These green beans are good, folks! They’re really that good.

Fresh Green Beans, One Way

1 lb green beans

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons bacon grease (can substitute 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (can substitute regular table salt; use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)

Ground black pepper

Snap the stem ends of green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you’d like. Just don’t tell Granny. Melt bacon grease in a skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize.

Have a wooden spoon handy to protect your fair share.

Love,

Pioneer Woman