B's Bacon and Brown Sugar Green Beans

Hope you had a great weekend, we did! I am thankful that I married a man who loves veggies. When I do cook each night, I try to always do a meat, a protein, and a starch. I have to get creative with veggies because grilled zucchini and squash, steamed broccoli, roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli, and grilled asparagus can get old fast. That is usually the vegetables we rotate with on a weekly basis. Last night, I decided to cook my grandmother’s greens beans. My dad doesn’t eat anything green besides salad and cucumbers, and when my dad was shoveling green beans down one Christmas, you must know they were awesome. But let’s be real, isn’t anything good if you top it with brown sugar and bacon?! This “vegetable” I served with grilled chicken and ranch potatoes last night has no nutritional value, but dang they are good.  You can do fresh green beans or canned green beans. Usually, when we make these, we make them with my mom’s rattle snake beans that she grows in her garden, but last night, I used canned green beans.

Here is a trick with canned green beans: I don’t really like canned vegetables, but my childhood neighbor Mrs. Nancy actually told me that if you drain the green beans and rinse them three times with cold water they won’t taste like canned vegetables. I swear by that trick now. Try it!

Ingredients

2 cans cut green beans (drained and rinsed)

¼ cup light brown sugar

3 pieces of reduced-sodium, reduced-fat bacon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place green beans in an 8x8 Pyrex dish.
• Sprinkle brown sugar on top of green beans and then place bacon for final layer.
• Place in oven for 45 minutes.

Happy Eating!