From Ho Hum to Wow!

My husband and I like a lot of vegetables.  Unfortunately, we don't like a lot of the same vegetables!  I love lima beans, but my husband loathes the legume.  He thinks black-eyed peas are the best, while I think they're best left at the grocery store!  I'm crazy about cabbage in any form except sauerkraut, but the only cabbage he'll eat is in the form of coleslaw.

One vegetable we agree on is green beans.  It's a side dish on our table more often than any other vegetable.  Most of the time, I just open a can of green beans and heat them in the microwave.  Since I fix green beans so often, though, I'm always looking for recipes that put an interesting twist on this old stand by.

When I first saw the recipe for Marinated Green Beans, I knew my husband would love it and I was right!  The recipe uses a lot of the same ingredients as the Green Bean Bundles I make every year at Christmas and Easter. Unlike bean bundles, the recipe is easier to prepare and less time consuming.  The beans need to marinate overnight, so you do need to plan ahead when you want to make these beans.

The original recipe called for canned green beans, but didn't specify what kind.  I use whole green beans because I like the size.

The recipe doesn't use Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, but the rest of the ingredients are identical to bean bundles, except for the amounts and method of preparation.

Instead of wrapping the beans in bacon and layering the ingredients on top, the butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic powder are combined and stirred into the green beans.  The seasonings can be adjusted to suit your taste.  If you want sweeter beans, add more brown sugar; for spicier beans, add more garlic powder. 

The bacon is diced -- the easiest way to do this is with a pair of kitchen shears -- and stirred into the beans.  If you don't want to add meat, omit the bacon; the beans will still be delicious.  Once everything is mixed together, refrigerate the beans overnight.  To evenly distribute the marinade, stir the beans a couple of times while they're marinating.

The beans take more effort than simply heating a can of green beans, but it's worth the work!  The marinade melds together and transforms canned green beans into a sweet and salty dish with a hint of bacon flavor.  The finished product is so good, you'll forget you're eating a vegetable!

Marinated Green Beans

4 Servings

2 (14.5 oz.) cans whole green beans, drained

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

3 slices bacon, diced (uncooked)

Put beans in a mixing bowl.  Mix margarine, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic powder together; pour over green beans.  Add diced bacon and stir until ingredients are combined.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring two or three times while marinating.  When ready to cook, remove beans from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Stir the beans and put them in a greased baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes, or until bacon is thoroughly cooked.

© Margaret's Morsels