Green Beans 'n Bacon...A Southern Staple.

Green beans 'n bacon is a southern girl staple.  There's nary a Southern cook who doesn't have a recipe for some of these bad boys in her arsenal.  And for good reasons.  Bacon just does magical things for vegetables.  And meats.  And pastas.  And just about anything else.  Seriously, bacon (and bacon grease) is like a magic wand.  And then combine bacon with butter (THE most essential ingredient in my kitchen!), and you know good things are going to happen.

We should probably introduce another important concept in Southern recipes, here, too.  The 'n.  The 'n is prominently featured in the BEST Southern Recipes.  Green beans 'n bacon, chicken 'n dumplins, biscuits 'n gravy...If you see an 'n in a recipe, you can pretty much guarantee it's going to be delicious.  Take my word for it.  It's important to note that this cannot, I repeat, CANNOT, be replaced with the more formal (and grammatically correct) "and."  It just can't be done.  Because then it's formal, and not homey, and old-fashioned, and then it's not really Southern at all, is it?

Okay, now that we've got all the 'n's and nary's out of the way, it's time to move onto the actual food.  These beans are delicious, but like a lot of really great foods, they are a little time consuming.  But, don't be disheartened, it's not a lot of actual work just a lot of cooking.  During which time you are free to paint your nails, read a magazine, twiddle your thumbs, play Candyland for the thousandth time (or is that just me?), take a nap, build a house, or do just about anything else that floats your boat.  And besides, don't forget that in order to make these beans, you've already engaged in the most relaxing, quintessentially Southern Summer activity.  Snapping beans.  Seriously, there is nothing that makes me as nostalgic, relaxed, and peaceful as sitting on the porch, snapping beans.  It's fantastic.  Just you wait.  Also, as is the case with many of my original recipes, there aren't a lot of real measurements here, it's just how I roll.

Hallelujahs:Freakin' Fantastic! The perfect side-dish, bacon, and butter, what's not to love?
Hellfires:Long cooking time, not necessarily figure friendly, but really, who's counting calories?
Variations:Many times, these beans are also made with potatoes in them, as well. Usually small waxy potato I happened to grow up calling a "new potato," but many people simply call red potatoes. They do turn out delicious, and the only alteration you make in that case is to be sure you have enough broth to cover the potatoes, and you cook them until they are fork tender.

Green Beans 'n Bacon
Ingredients:
Fresh Green Beans
2 sticks of butter
Salt/Pepper to taste
Chicken Stock
Bacon

-First, you're going to snap your beans. Basically, you're just going to snap off the ends of the beans, throw out the ends, and break the large middle piece in half. Put these halves in a colander.  Don't look at this as a chore.  Really enjoy the task.  Go out on your porch, sit in a rocking chair, bring a glass of iced tea, or lemonade, and really take in your surroundings (Assuming your kids don't jolt you back to reality by spraying you with the hose...and if they do, just go with it and spray them back, you're bigger than they are afterall, and those beans need washed anyway!).  Wash the beans thoroughly after snapping.

-I usually do this task earlier in the day, so I'm not stressed about it, and can truly enjoy the experience.  But you can also do this while your bacon is frying, if you're into being efficient.  Which I'm clearly not. At least not in the kitchen.
-Fry up your bacon in a deep frying pan.  The amount of bacon depends on the amount of green beans.  I usually use about 1 lb. of bacon, but you can't go wrong with more.  Bacon just makes everything better.  I wouldn't use less, but that's just me.  I happen to like the jiggle in my middle, or at least I don't hate it enough to avoid bacon fat.

-Once your bacon has been fried up, add your washed green beans to the pan.  Do NOT (repeat after me, here, DO NOT!) drain your bacon fat.  This is what's going to really elevate those beans to the next level.  It's what puts the 'n in the green beans 'n bacon.  You're going to kind of toss those beans around in the bacon and bacon fat for about 5 minutes, on medium heat.  They are going to turn this gorgeous bright green color, usually only seen in Amazon rainforests.  It's pretty amazing.

-Next you're going to add some salt and pepper, and 1 stick of butter. Yes.  A whole stick.  Just roll with me, here.  Just kind of toss it around until the butter has melted.

-Add your chicken stock.  You can use chicken broth, chicken stock, or even chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water.  Again the amount is going to depend on how many beans you've cooked.  The general rule of thumb that I go with, is enough broth to just cover the beans, but I've made do with less, and been just fine too.

-Once the chicken stock is in, cover your beans, and cook on LOW (think 2-3) for about 30 minutes.
-After 30 minutes, add another stick of butter.  I'll relent, and if you only want to add 1/2 stick, I won't tell.

-Re-cover, and cook for another 20 minutes or so.
-After your beans have cooked, covered for about 50 minutes (30+20=50, right?), you're going to uncover them, and increase the heat to medium (5-6), and continue to cook them UNcovered, for another 20 minutes or so.  The idea here is to really reduce that chicken stock to at least half (maybe even less than half, depending on how much of a hurry you're in!).
-At this point, taste your beans.  If they need more salt/pepper, add it now, and cook again for about 5 minutes.
          -I should note that I use a fair amount of pepper in these.  Not just a pinch here, or there, so don't  be afraid to really get that in there.  Also, it's important to know that these aren't going to be "crispy," or "snappy" beans when they are done, they have a softer texture, so I wouldn't worry too very much about  overcooking them.  I've not burnt them yet!

-Serve them with a slotted spoon if you don't want them to have juices running all over the pate.  But, I happen to love that, and most of the time, I eat them right from the pan!

Plain Text Recipe:

Green Beans 'n Bacon

Ingredients:

Fresh Green Beans
2 sticks of butter
Salt/Pepper to taste
Chicken Stock
Bacon

-First, you're going to snap your beans. Basically, you're just going to snap off the ends of the beans, throw out the ends, and break the large middle piece in half. Put these halves in a colander.  Don't look at this as a chore.  Really enjoy the task.  Go out on your porch, sit in a rocking chair, bring a glass of iced tea, or lemonade, and really take in your surroundings (Assuming your kids don't jolt you back to reality by spraying you with the hose...and if they do, just go with it and spray them back, you're bigger than they are afterall, and those beans need washed anyway!).  Wash the beans thoroughly after snapping.

-I usually do this task earlier in the day, so I'm not stressed about it, and can truly enjoy the experience.  But you can also do this while your bacon is frying, if you're into being efficient.  Which I'm clearly not. At least not in the kitchen.

-Fry up your bacon in a deep frying pan.  The amount of bacon depends on the amount of green beans.  I usually use about 1 lb. of bacon, but you can't go wrong with more.  Bacon just makes everything better.  I wouldn't use less, but that's just me.  I happen to like the jiggle in my middle, or at least I don't hate it enough to avoid bacon fat.

-Once your bacon has been fried up, add your washed green beans to the pan.  Do NOT (repeat after me, here, DO NOT!) drain your bacon fat.  This is what's going to really elevate those beans to the next level.  It's what puts the 'n in the green beans 'n bacon.  You're going kind of toss those beans around in the bacon and bacon fat for about 10 minutes, on medium heat.  They are going to turn this gorgeous bright green color, usually only seen in Amazon rainforests.  It's pretty amazing.

-Next you're going to add some salt and pepper, and 1 stick of butter. Yes.  A whole stick.  Just roll with me, here.  Just kind of toss it around until the butter has melted.

-Add your chicken stock.  You can use chicken broth, chicken stock, or even chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water.  Again the amount is going to depend on how many beans you've cooked.  The general rule of thumb that I go with, is enough broth to just cover the beans, but I've made do with less, and been just fine too.  

-Once the chicken stock is in, cover your beans, and cook on LOW (think 2-3/10) for about 30 minutes.

-After 30 minutes, add another stick of butter.  I'll relent, and if you only want to add 1/2 stick, I won't tell.

-Re-cover, and cook for another 20 minutes or so.

-After your beans have cooked, covered for about 50 minutes (30+20=50, right?), you're going to uncover them, and increase the heat to medium (5-6/10), and continue to cook them UNcovered, for another 20 minutes or so.  The idea here is to really reduce that chicken stock to at least half (maybe even less than half, depending on how much of a hurry you're in!). 

-At this point, taste your beans.  If they need more salt/pepper, add it now, and cook again for about 5 minutes.

          -I should note that I use a fair amount of pepper in these.  Not just a pinch here, or there, so don't  be afraid to really get that in there.  Also, it's important to know that these aren't going to be "crispy," or "snappy" beans when they are done, they have a softer texture, so I wouldn't worry too very much about  overcooking them.  I've not burnt them yet!