my mom's green beans

My mother totally ruined me. I've blamed her for a lot of things over the years, some of it justified, some of it not so, and this is one of those absolutely 100% justified things. Not that I'm complaining though. I turned around and did the same thing to my kids, and should they choose to throw any blame my way, I'll just stick my tongue out at them.

What I'm talking about are her green beans. I really can't eat them any other way. I've tried. Once I even tried to cook some fresh ones, there was a recipe I got at my WeightWatchers meeting, and I tried to go healthy, but either the recipe wasn't that great, or I have no idea how to cook fresh green beans (my guess is it was a little of both, probably more my fault though). My family all tried it with me, but none of us ate more than a bite or two. Growing up my mom made these beans at least once a week. I think at one point we were going through 6 cans each time she made them. (There were only 6 of us). Unfortunately, there's no real recipe. It's just one of those "throw stuff in until it looks good" kinds of things. I still think my mom's are better than mine, but I always think everyone else's food is better than mine.

So the basic ingredients for my mom's beans are canned cut green beans (Green Giant I think), green onions, garlic, and bacon. The bacon is the magic ingredient here. First you cut up a strip or two (1-2 strips of bacon per can of beans) of bacon into half inch wide strips and then throw it into the bottom of a sauce pan. This is one of those cases where the fattier it is, the better. Emeril is a kindred spirit here. Bacon fat rocks. Cook it up til most of the bacon fat is rendered and the bacon bits are getting nice and crisp, then add a bunch of chopped green onions to the mix. Let all that finish cooking, then add some minced garlic. (I learned from experience not to add the garlic earlier because it tends to burn easily. ) Then add your can(s) of drained beans, stir to make sure you coat the beans in all that greasy goodness, turn the heat to low, and cover until ready to serve (heating thoroughly of course). Feel free to salt and pepper to taste.

-notes -
Generally I have serious issues with canned vegetables. The fresher the better. Canned beans are the only canned vegetables I'll eat, and the only way I will eat them at this point. Weird eh?
I actually keep bacon in my freezer for this purpose and then when I need some bacon I use a really sharp knife and chop off half inch strips of the side of the bacon. (2 half inch strips per can)