Bonus Recipe – Green Beans with Tomatoes!

I don’t know what the heck to call this recipe. Tomatoey Green Beans? Tomatoes with Green Beans? Green Beans with Tomatoes seems both descriptive and logical. Boring though.

A local Italian restaurant serves a side of flat beans cooked in a similar way and this is my take on that. Mine is way better though and you don’t have to pay for it. Well except buying the ingredients. And you have to do the work yourself which is less fun that going out to eat. But if you are eating at home anyway and you happen to have all the ingredients on hand, you might as well go ahead and make this because your whole life is going to look better after you eat this little gem.

I of course, used fresh beans for this because I had a bucket of them sitting on my kitchen floor. It is actually a really good way to liven up frozen beans in the winter and I suppose canned would not be harmed by the addition of the other ingredients. Yuck though. But what do I know – I love canned spinach. Usually when you have fresh green beans, you have a lot of them all at once. This is a way to prepare them that allows you to hold on to that fresh picked flavor a few extra days.

So, moving right along. Snip the ends from your beans, cut into approximately inch [or 2] long pieces and wash. I used about 2 lbs of beans here and got probably 6 servings.

Chop 2 slices of raw bacon into a small dice and put in a wide sauté pan over medium heat, stirring often. When they are about half way done, lower the heat a bit and add 1 medium chopped onion [cut so that the pieces will be about the same size as the beans] and several smashed and chopped garlic cloves.Mix around every so often and continue cooking over low heat for about 5 minutes.Add the beans, about 3/4 of a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, lower the heat a bit more and cover the pan.At this point, things become very subjective. If you like your beans cooked to death – and who am I to criticize – this is the time to do that. If you like them a little more al dente, cook about 10 minutes, remove the lid and raise the heat for 2 or 3 minutes to cook off most of the broth. Taste and add salt if needed. Give it about ten grinds of pepper and about a tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano or a teaspoon of the dried stuff. Stir in either 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes or a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes that have been drained and heat through.Now here is the best thing about this recipe. You can eat it right away. You can make it ahead and keep it at a simmer for awhile. You can put it in the fridge and reheat it later. You can make enough for several meals and take out what you want when you need it. If anything, it gets better after a few days in the fridge. It even freezes pretty well – do that right after adding the tomatoes though – don’t heat it up again if you want to freeze it. It is heavenly no matter what you do with it. Enjoy!

Tomatoey Green Beans/Green Beans with Tomatoes
2 lbs fresh green beans, cut in 1 to 2 inch pieces or the equivalent of frozen or canned beans
2 strips bacon, cut in small dice
1 medium onion choppe
2 -3 cloves garlic smashed and finely minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano [1 teaspoon dried]
10 grinds pepper
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes or 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained

In a saute pan over medium heat, fry bacon until about half way done. Lower hear slightly, add onion and garlic and stirring frequently, cook about 5 minutes. Add beans, chicken broth and salt and simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed, add the pepper, oregano and tomatoes. Heat through and serve or simmer awhile longer if preferred. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheats very well.