"No Longer Recognizable as a Vegetable"

Holiday Green Beans

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Source: McCracken County School Food Service Department

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My aunt used to serve this as “Green Bean Bundles,” tying 5-6 green beans together with bacon and securing them with a toothpick. That is labor intensive and my family goes through a lot of green beans. So we came up with this, which is an automatic addition to our holiday table. My kids are very disappointed if we do not have "Un-Vegetable Green Beans" at Christmas. 

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INGREDIENTS

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 cup of brown sugar 

6 14.5 oz cans of cut green beans

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp onion powder

4 strips of thick cut bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice raw bacon into one-inch pieces. Brown bacon and reserve 2 tbsp of the grease. 

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Pour the six cans of green beans, liquid and all, into a large pot. Add bacon, bacon grease, brown sugar, butter, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly. Bring the beans to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low. Be prepared to let this pot simmer on low all day long. Stir occasionally. You may have to occasionally add water to the pot if the beans start to look “dry.” You don’t want them to burn on the bottom. 

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When the beans start to look sort of mushy and lose their green color, that’s when they’re done. They should no longer resemble a vegetable at this point. I  know that sounds gross, but this salty-sweet-savory side tastes like Thanksgiving to me. They are not health food.