I love vegetables. A lot. However, simply eating them steamed or boiled can get a little old after a while! Finding a (relatively) healthy method of cooking vegetables with lots of flavor has been a bit of a challenge.
This is one of my new favorites. I whipped up a big batch of these Fancy Green Beans as a side dish on Thanksgiving last year, and they were a hit! Adding the sweetness of a red bell pepper and the contrasting flavor of smoky bacon makes this dish so tasty, and so much less boring than plain green beans! Delicious? Yes. Difficult to make? Not at all!
Fancy Green Beans
*adapted from Paula Deen
Fancy Green Beans
Author: Katie Compton
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1½ pounds fresh green beans
- 2 slices turkey bacon
- ½ cup red bell pepper strips
- ½ cup thin onion wedges
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, honey, and butter.
- Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the lemon juice. Drop in the beans and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until beans are bright green. Drain the beans in a colander and then plunge them into the iced water. Drain again and set aside.
- In a skillet, cook the bacon until very crispy. Set strips on 2 sheets of paper towel to absorb excess grease. Then, crumble bacon and set aside. Drain excess bacon fat from the skillet if desired, leaving a small amount. Next, saute the bell pepper and onion in the hot bacon fat for 2 minutes. Add the beans and bacon to the skillet. Add the teriyaki-honey sauce and toss gently. Enjoy!
Need more side dish inspiration?
Goat Cheese and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
Honey Ginger Glazed Carrots
Sauteed Spinach Salad
I’ll have to try this. Josh HATES vegetables (baffles me) and I’m always trying to find a way to get him to eat them. Maybe this will work!
You had me at “Paula Deen”
You had me at bacon!
These look great – might have to add this to my list; you can’t go wrong with Paula Deen! 🙂
Looks delicious! I, too, did a healthier spin on the green bean casserole for last Thanksgiving… started with sauteeing garlic and shallots in a little olive oil, added lightly blanched beans to the pan to sautee. Deglaze pan with a bit of demi glace (or beef stock would work), add a scoop of grainy mustard, and toss. DELISH! Also, I sliced a chunk of halloumi and grilled it off in a pan separately, and topped the beans with that. It was a nice salty bite addition. Hope you’ll try this!
Oh YUM! That sounds wonderful. I love the idea to add mustard in there…thanks for sharing 🙂