Ingredients:
Fresh or Frozen Green Beans
Cooking Oil
Bacon
Sugar
Season Salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Diced Red Potatoes (optional)
Chopped Mushrooms (optional)
When I can (please no pun intended), I use fresh green beans but if this is not an option, frozen works almost as well.
Most canned green beans have a terrible after taste and I consider canning them to be assault, battery, rape and muder of perfectly good green beans.
If using fresh green beans, make sure the tips are snapped off. French style cutting is also an option, but this is very time consuming and can also cause personal injury if not absolutely careful. I use my Case Trapper knife for this very purpose.
If using frozen green beans, allow them to defrost, at least for a little while.
Take your favorite type of bacon and some sterile kitchen scissors and cut the bacon into neat little squares.
*If you use raw bacon and are anal about food borne pathogens like I am, you may microwave the bacon before cutting it, but for best results add the drippings as well as the bacon to the recipe.*
Line the bottom of a medium to large pot with cooking oil, then add the cut up bacon (and drippings if applicable), sugar, season salt, onion powder, garlic powder black pepper and the optional diced red potatoes.
…Eyeball your spices. I never measure! The more green beans you have the more seasonings you will need. You may just be cooking for yourself or you may be cooking for a small army…
Place pot on a medium to high fire.
Heat the base and frequently stir until it is ever-so-slightly carmelized.
Dump green beans into pot and add some water.
You may also add the chopped mushrooms at this time if you wish.
You want enough water to steam the green beans but NOT boil them.
*Steaming preserves the all the nutrients that green beans provide whereas boiling destroys all those nutrients*
Lower the fire/heat.
Mix everything thoroughly so the flavor of the seasoning base is infused to the green beans.
Cover the pot, but stir occasionally.
The cooking on low fire time may take 1 to 3 hours depending on how tender you want your green beans to be and how much you are cooking.
Towards the end, add the potatoes, if you desire to use potatoes.
*Make durn sure you wash them well, but to save time as well as add some nutrition to your meal, leave the skin on. The skin is good for you!*
Serve and enjoy.