Easy veggie recipe #1: Quick Garlic Butter Green Beans

In my effort to make vegetables more approachable, the theme of these recipes is going to be simply, easy to remember, without the need for much measuring. This is as easy as it gets, in my opinion, while still being amazingly tasty. Also, very easy to customize and add on to to create a different flavor, or a "fancier" dish.

Quick Garlic Butter Green Beans

A handful of green beans per person, I usually make this for two, so two handfuls, I also prefer haricot verts over american green beans (About 1/2 lb)
1 spoonful of butter
A couple rounds of the pan of olive oil (About 1 tablespoon)
1 spoonful of minced garlic (About 1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place a saute pan over medium to medium high heat. Add the butter and oil. Heat until rippling. Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and the green beans. Stir to coat. Saute openly for 3-4 minutes, then cover. Let cook another 2 minutes or so, stir and check for doneness. I like my vegetables very crisp-tender, so I'm usually done at this point, or another minute or two. But, you can cover for another two minutes, then check again for softer green beans. Or if you are using thicker ones. After the first time, you'll be a better judge of how long you need to cook them.

Sometimes I openly saute without covering, and let them get a little blackened. Other times, when using thicker green beans, I steam them for a couple minutes, blanch them to retain their bright color, then add to some garlic sauteeing in butter just to reheat and serve.

Sometimes I cook some chopped bacon first, then take out the bacon, add the garlic and green beans, and serve with the bacon over the top. Nuts are a lovely addition, as are herbs. Bacon and hazelnuts would be delicious. Pepitas would be fantastic. We've done pearl onions with them. I'm doing bacon, caramelized shallots, and pepitas with them for Thanksgiving. Whatever you want!

For a fancy presentation of simple green beans, try cooking the green beans in garlic butter until very crisp tender, and setting aside. Cook bacon until cooked through but not crisp. Wrap 4-5 green beans in a slice of bacon, secure with a toothpick, and bake for about 10 minutes to crisp up the bacon, and finish off the green beans. Take out the toothpick, and serve! Looks amazing, but is suuuuper easy.

On a side note, I'm a very precise and logical person. Not measuring things for recipes I'm sharing is totally out of my comfort zone. But, when I cook my simple veggie side dishes, I never measure, so I'm not sure why I feel the need to do so for the recipes I share.

I hope you enjoy. Although, how could you not... I mean, come on, garlic and butter!? You can throw that on anything...