# Green Bean ideas?



## Lytle (Nov 5, 2008)

So I'm making some turkey kiev's for supper tonight with some mashed potatoes and looking in my cupboard there's not any veggies but canned green beans. I don't do the shopping when I'm at home, I just work with what's here. We got a lot of the essentials for cooking, so can probably whip up a lot of ideas if you give me some. I don't cook green beans much at all, feel like doing something different than just heating them up with garlic and herbs like I normally would. Any cool little green been recipes for things like salads or anything you guys got? I'm bored, need something to do.


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## GhettoRacingKid (Nov 5, 2008)

not much experince with canned green beans but.....

my mom makes a killer green bean casserole. its green beans, cream of mushroom soup and something else i dont know and then topped with some like french canned onions thing.  its darn good.

i either sautee them with butter salt and pepper or ill do that and add some bread crumbs for some extra texture or instead of bread crumbs maybe some bacon.


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## miniman (Nov 5, 2008)

I would go for rendering some chopped up bacon or pancetta untils quirte crisp and the stir fry the green beans in the pan with the bacon bits.


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## pacanis (Nov 5, 2008)

I like _some_ canned green beans. Del Monte, that is.  Not all canned veggies are created equal, for sure. I dump the juice out and put them in the pot with EVOO, butter and Italian seasoning. You're probably looking for something fancier, but that works for me.


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## Uncle Bob (Nov 5, 2008)

A little onion sauteed in a lot of EVOO --- Then add a lot of garlic for a moment or two --- Add the beans ---Add a can of (or a portion thereof) tomatoes. Salt and Pepper --- Simmer --- A quick squeeze of lemon before you serve ......

Enjoy!


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## Fisher's Mom (Nov 5, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> A little onion sauteed in a lot of EVOO --- Then add a lot of garlic for a moment or two --- Add the beans ---Add a can of (or a portion thereof) tomatoes. Salt and Pepper --- Simmer --- A quick squeeze of lemon before you serve ......
> 
> Enjoy!


This sounds so yummy, Uncle Bob. Can you indulge me by answering what's probably a stupid question? Can I use the minced garlic that comes in the little jars? And how much is "a lot"? I think I'm going to make this tonight and the only garlic I have in the house is garlic powder and the minced stuff in the little glass jar. Thank you, thank you in advance.


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## Uncle Bob (Nov 5, 2008)

Fisher's Mom said:


> This sounds so yummy, Uncle Bob. Can you indulge me by answering what's probably a stupid question? Can I use the minced garlic that comes in the little jars? And how much is "a lot"? I think I'm going to make this tonight and the only garlic I have in the house is garlic powder and the minced stuff in the little glass jar. Thank you, thank you in advance.


 
Thank you, and yes you can use the minced garlic in the little jar. Use what you have. A lot ??? Just to taste ---It's best to start with a little (1/2 teaspoon maybe) then add more to your taste. Same with the tomatoes --- add some (1/2 can maybe) then add more if you like. It all depends on how many beans you have --- Anyway you want to taste the Garlic and the EVOO along with the beans and tomatoes....Just play with it and ---

Enjoy!!!


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## Fisher's Mom (Nov 5, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> Thank you, and yes you can use the minced garlic in the little jar. Use what you have. A lot ??? Just to taste ---It's best to start with a little (1/2 teaspoon maybe) then add more to your taste. Same with the tomatoes --- add some (1/2 can maybe) then add more if you like. It all depends on how many beans you have --- Anyway you want to taste the Garlic and the EVOO along with the beans and tomatoes....Just play with it and ---
> 
> Enjoy!!!


Thanks so much, UB. A lady can always count on your assistance. The reason I asked what a lot of garlic is is because your recipe said to add a lot of garlic for a minute or 2. That was cloves of garlic, right? But I didn't know how much "a lot" of the minced stuff would be. (It must be painfully obvious by now that I have never used garlic in cooking before. Can you believe it? But I had purchased the little jar of minced garlic so I could make the leap!)


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## Lytle (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas, a like them. I've done the bacon one before, that's always good. I think I'm gonna try a variation of the first one with the canned soup. I think I'll go canned cream of celery soup and sauteed onions, bit of garlic, celery salt and pepper and top it with bread crumb/butter mixture and gratin. Should turn out pretty similar to what you're saying GRK. I like your idea too UncleBob, think I'll try that later in the week.

By the way, what do you guys mean when you say EVOO?? I've seen it posted a lot around the boards, don't know your guys e-slang yet. It's probably something quite simple to figure out but I can't think. Thanks for the response guys.


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## Uncle Bob (Nov 5, 2008)

Fisher's Mom said:


> Thanks so much, UB. A lady can always count on your assistance. The reason I asked what a lot of garlic is is because your recipe said to add a lot of garlic for a minute or 2. That was cloves of garlic, right? But I didn't know how much "a lot" of the minced stuff would be. (It must be painfully obvious by now that I have never used garlic in cooking before. Can you believe it? But I had purchased the little jar of minced garlic so I could make the leap!)


 
Yes, I would use 3-4-5, depending on size, cloves/sections/toes of fresh garlic --- Saute for only a couple of minutes so it want burn! Burned Garlic taste bitter to me. Look on the jar...It may tell you how much equals a clove of garlic --- I like a lot of garlic --- You may like less -- or more depending on you and your family's taste...Again I suggest you start with a little --Let it work it's way into the dish -- then add more to your taste--- Oh it's not "painfully obvious" to me!!


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## Uncle Bob (Nov 5, 2008)

> By the way, what do you guys mean when you say EVOO??


 
*E*xtra *V*irgin *Ol*ive *O*il


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## Lytle (Nov 5, 2008)

I knew it was something I should've been able to figure out.


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## Constance (Nov 5, 2008)

Here's a delicious dish that came from my daughter's step-son, Brandon, who is currently in Iraq working for the government. (He'd already done two tours in the army.)


   Brandon’s Sweet & Sour Green Beans

  10 oz bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
  ½ cup brown sugar
  ½ cup white sugar
  1/4 cup vinegar
  4 cans green bean, drained, 1 cup liquid reserved
  ½ cup chopped onion

  Mix sugars, vinegar and cut up onions. Bring to a boil. Drain green beans and add one cup of liquid to the vinegar mixture. If there isn’t enough liquid from the green beans, add water to make 1 cup. Add green beans. Reduce heat and continue cooking until beans are well saturated. Remove from heat and let marinate in the refrigerator for 12+ hours. May be eaten any time, but the longer they marinate, the better they are. Reheat and add bacon before serving. 

  (Brandon’s directions: Chop and sweat bacon. Remove bacon from pan, and add onions, white and brown sugars, vinegar and 1 cup liquid. Allow to cook down. Add beans, let sit overnight. To serve, reheat and top with crumbled bacon. The difference here is that you utilize the bacon grease.)


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## Jeff G. (Nov 5, 2008)

I love fried green beans.  Using bacon fat, slow fry them until they begin to turn brown.  wonderful flavors...


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## QSis (Nov 5, 2008)

Jeff G. said:


> I love fried green beans. Using bacon fat, slow fry them until they begin to turn brown. wonderful flavors...


 
Ooooooo, Jeff!  I have fresh green beans all the time, but I have not tried that one!

Plenty of bacon grease in the freezer!  Thanks!

Lee


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## Lytle (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks for that recipe Constance, I'll have to try it soon it sounds good. Might just replace the juice/water with whatever kind of stock I have on hand though, and the vinegar I'll probably use balsamic, it's by far my favorite kind of vinegar and I think it would go great with that recipe. Brandon's always have the best recipes and ideas... I should know, I share the name.

Oh and by the way, what I did with the beans tonight turned out great, so thanks for getting the creative juices flowing. I'd reccomend anyone else try it. I also ended up adding a bit of dill weed and seed in there for a bit of extra flavour. I'd also reccomend using 2 cans green beans to one can of the soup, I did one to one cause I was only cooking for 3 people and it was a bit too soupy, but still tasted great.


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## shannon in KS (Nov 5, 2008)

We have a local restaraunt that batters them and fries them as an appetizer, served with ranch!  I am sure you could search a basic beer batter recipe, drain the beans, maybe let them dry a little, then throw in the batter for a few minutes, and deep fry.  Just something different to maybe try!  I think it works better with fresh green beans, but canned green beans are somewhat firm too!


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## jpmcgrew (Nov 5, 2008)

As far as canned green beans go I think it's hard to dress them up but fresh green beans are a another matter so many ways to make them when they are fresh. I actually like canned green beans as they are I guess because I had them when I was a kid.


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## Lytle (Nov 6, 2008)

Yeah shannon at the restaurant I first started cooking at we tempura battered green beans for the dining room, I had to do them whenever the cassoulet came up because the deep fryer was on the lounge side. They`re good, but I don`t think they`d be nearly as good with the canned green beans. Maybe I`ll try it sometime, if I do I`ll post how they turned out.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 6, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> Yes, I would use 3-4-5, depending on size, cloves/sections/toes of fresh garlic --- Saute for only a couple of minutes so it want burn! Burned Garlic taste bitter to me. Look on the jar...It may tell you how much equals a clove of garlic --- I like a lot of garlic --- You may like less -- or more depending on you and your family's taste...Again I suggest you start with a little --Let it work it's way into the dish -- then add more to your taste--- Oh it's not "painfully obvious" to me!!



UB, this is my favorite way to fix green beans 

Terry, one clove is about equal to one tsp. of minced garlic from the jar, so as UB says, add as much as you and your family like  In our house, that's a couple of cloves for one can of beans


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## shannon in KS (Nov 6, 2008)

yeah starting with a raw fresh green bean is probably ideal, and I personally love the snap of a barely cooked green bean! mmm mmmm!



Lytle said:


> Yeah shannon at the restaurant I first started cooking at we tempura battered green beans for the dining room, I had to do them whenever the cassoulet came up because the deep fryer was on the lounge side. They`re good, but I don`t think they`d be nearly as good with the canned green beans. Maybe I`ll try it sometime, if I do I`ll post how they turned out.


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## lifesaver (Nov 16, 2008)

I like to cook my green beans over night in a slow cooker with bacon and new potatoes. YUMMY!


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