Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Home Cooked Green Beans

Last night Charlcie and Abi went up to the church to have worship prep; to get ready for worship on Sunday. So I had some time on my hands and I decided to make fresh green beans like my mom used to do.
But first things first, I had to heat up my wonderful bowl of ham bone soup. While it was heating I took 2 cups of stock I'd made with the chicken Charlcie had boiled last week and the ham bone and set it aside. Oh by the way, I forgot to say to snap the ends off the beans and wash them. some people snap the beans in half but you don't have too.
In a large oven pan I melted a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter and lightly browned 1/4 pound of sliced salt pork. Then I tossed the green beans into the pot and stirred with a wooden spoon to coat them. Now, add the the broth, bring to a boil and add a palm full of salt (I used kosher salt, and a little less), 2 tspns of garlic powder and black pepper. Let this simmer over medium low heat (emphasis on the low) for about 30 minutes, covered.
While the beans were cooking, I ate my soup and man oh man was it good. Then I cut an onion into slivers and peeled the potatoes. You'll want to use 10-12 depending on the size. Add the potatoes and onions at the end of the 30 minutes and cook another 30 minutes, covered. You'll need to check every once in a while to make there's still some stock. Add a little if needed. When the potatoes are tender add 1/2 stick unsalted butter and cook with the lid tilted for another 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
When Charlcie and Abi got home about 9:30 PM we all had a little bowl of green beans. Oh my goodness were they ever good. There's just something about fresh stock, green beans and potatoes.

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