RECIPE: Green Beans with Bacon & Mushrooms

Fresh-from-the-garden green beans are hands-down, my favourite summer vegetable. I even have a favourite variety (Slenderette). Unfortunately, this year I have the worst green bean crop I've had since I started growing green beans. The critters really went to town on them and I lost a lot of my plants in the early going. Despite a replanting to try and help offset the damage, I still have a scanty supply in comparison to a typical year.

These are the types of situations where I'm glad I don't have to rely 100% (or anywhere close to it!) on the food I grow myself to feed my family. While beans from the grocery store or farmers' market aren't going to compare to the ones from my garden, it's better than having none at all!

As you might suspect, when green beans are in season, we take full advantage of it and eat a LOT of them. While they're wonderful simply boiled or steamed til tender-crisp and seasoned with a little salt, pepper and butter, if you're looking to up the ante a little and put an impressive-looking side on the table with your midsummer meal, this is a delectable combination, indeed. So good that there was *very* little left over of that generously full pan in the picture after the four of us had at it.

Ingredients:

1 lb green beans, trimmed

4-6 strips of bacon

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

½ lb mushrooms, sliced

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Instructions:

• Cook the beans in a saucepan of boiling water for about 5 minutes (they should still be crisp). Drain and set aside.

• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a medium frying pan until crisp; remove to a paper-towel lined plate. If there is more than 2 tbsp of bacon fat in the pan, drain some of the fat. Return the pan to medium heat and saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms in the bacon fat until tender; season with the salt and pepper.
  
  
• Add the green beans to the frying pan and cook for about 5 minutes longer or until beans are tender; crumble bacon over top and serve.

Serves 4

I shared this recipe at Full Plate Thursday.

This is just one of the many simple, delicious and inexpensive new recipes featured in my August menu plans. Go HERE to find out more about them - more brand new tasty, family-friendly dishes are on the way for the September edition.

Are you a huge green bean fan, too? What is your favourite way to serve them?

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