Fresh green beans make a simple and quick side dish. I know many of you cook with fresh veggies all the time, but for others it’s all new. Green beans are very easy to prepare and it’s fun to get the kids involved too.
Snap the ends off each bean. This is a step your kids might like to help with. Toss the beans in a colander and rinse under cool water. Put the beans in a saucepan with about 1/2 – 3/4 cup water. Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down and let them steam for about 15 minutes. I like them to be tender-crisp. Drain the water off and add a tablespoon or two of butter. Season with salt and pepper.
I really only like fresh green beans. The canned version turns me off. The only exception to that is in green bean casserole – you know, the kind with cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. I can’t explain why I like that, especially since I don’t like canned green beans. It’s a mystery.
What about you? Do you like green beans? Do you grow them in your garden or can them yourself? Do you like them cooked the Kentucky way with bacon or pork fat and new potatoes cooked in them? I remember my Uncle Marvin cooking beans that way and I can still conjure up the smell. I never liked it, though everyone else did. Funny how a vegetable can bring back memories 🙂
I love green beans. I remember helping my grandmother can them. She would can what seemed like a hundred quart jars during the summer. And I agree, the fresh ones are much better.
I love green beans! We’ve grown them in our garden the last few years. I’ve never learned to can and don’t really care to, so we just eat tons during the summer. 🙂 The rest of the year we eat them frozen from the store. Like you, I also like green bean casserole. I usually just throw in thawed, frozen beans, but I still love it with canned beans. It’s comfort food. We generally just eat them with a little butter and seasoned salt, but my favorite way to have them is this recipe – dill, feta, red onion, and Italian dressing. Yum!
http://fortheloveofgrub.blogspot.com/2008/08/green-beans-with-feta-dill.html
We love green beans, too, and do grow them in the garden – yum!! I don’t like canned at all and frozen are tricky to cook so they aren’t rubbery. Fresh is the way to go if at all possible! This year I’m going to experiment to see if I can figure out a way to freeze them so they’ll be more like fresh. Wish me luck 🙂
I love to roast green beans. I mix them with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic and roast them at 400 for about 15-20 minutes. Halfway through I shake the pan a bit to mix them up or turn them. I love it when they get a little brown and cripsy!
Katie – Thanks for the idea! I’m going to try roasting them sometime. Sounds good!
I also like fresh green beans! I got this recipe from a Turkish family that I used to babysit for….
Saute 1/2 an onion and 1 clove of garlic in the pressure cooker pan, then add a can of stewed tomatoes & fresh green beans. Go 2x around the pot with olive oil, and then add a little water. Don’t forget to salt. Pressure cook for about 3 minutes. Serve over rice and with a side of plain yogurt!
We usually just heat some olive oil and minced garlic in a skillet and saute the fresh green beans for about 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Maybe add some spices. Simple and my six year old loves them so that’s all I need 🙂
I love fresh green beans! But my favorite way is to saute them in olive oil and garlic with a little sea salt. YUMMO!!
This does bring back memories! My grandma & grandpa grew them in their garden! What a treat to snap the beans and put them in the pot to boil with my grandma and grandpa and I picked them!
We have some green beans from our garden we want to put in the freezer. Occasionally, the green bean pods have small round brown spots. I say they are insect spots that you need to snap off. My husband says they aren’t but if they are it won’t hurt to eat them. Do I need to look at each bean and snap these spots off.
Dianna, I think your husband is right. I’m not sure what causes the spots, but they won’t hurt you. If they are big or they bother you, you can cut them off or snap them off.
I looooove fresh green beans! Growing up in the southeast, we always had canned, but I can’t stand them! [Except, like you, in green bean casserole (but only with homemade fried onions).] My favorite way to eat them is sauteed to tender-crisp in a little olive oil with some fresh minced garlic. Minor victory: I do all the cooking for my extremely picky family. I just got my 14-going on-25 year-old sister to try fresh green beans and she loves them! Small victories are the best!
Our favorite way to cook fresh green beans is on the grill. I toss them with olive oil (basil infused is yummy), salt & pepper then cook them on high in my grill basket. My family will devour a 2 pounds in a meal
great i love how the beans tasted