I can vaguely remember being the last one at the dinner table and my dad telling me that I needed to finish my lima beans. I hated them. I would hold out and sit there, maybe eating one or two, but I really couldn’t stand them. I’m sure I didn’t have to sit there too long. I am daddy’s little girl, after all! And I still don’t like lima beans to this day. We all know how this goes. Either we remember something we hated to eat as a kid, but your mom or dad made you eat at least a few bites, or you are a parent yourself and you know what it’s like trying to get those kids to eat the food that they seem to despise. I’m fortunate to have kids that are not very picky eaters. I don’t really let them be picky. I fix what I want to fix and they have to at least try it. “I’m not a waitress!” comes out of my mouth many times when they don’t agree with whatever we are having or all request different things. They have things they do not like and that’s ok, but I’m not rearranging our whole meal around that. Luckily, they eat most veggies that I make, with a few exceptions such as brussel sprouts. As much as I want to like them, I just don’t. I think they are a beautiful looking little vegetable and I know they are loaded with vitamins, but I just don’t like them. I’ve tried fixing them in the oven, sautéing them on the stove, using olive oil, salt, pepper, with bacon, you name it, but I just don’t care for them. They smell and taste like stinky socks to me. My kids can’t stand them either. So since I know brussel sprouts are crossed off the list of green veggies in our household, we eat a lot of other green veggies like salads, broccoli, and lots and lots of green beans. They are inexpensive to buy at the grocery store, but my favorite is when they are fresh from the garden. It’s easy to freeze fresh green beans for a nice garden treat all year-long. I also like them because they can easily be thrown in a skillet and steamed for a few minutes and they are ready to go. Garlic Butter Green Beans do not require a lot of prep work and are a lovely easy side dish to any meal.
Garlic Butter Green Beans:
Ingredients:
Fresh Green Beans, washed and ends trimmed.
2-3 large garlic cloves – smashed
1-2 TBS butter
1-2 TBS olive oil
Kosher or Sea Salt and Pepper
Optional additions – slivered almonds, crumbled cooked bacon, parmesan cheese
Directions:
Wash beans and trim the stem end off green beans.
In a large skillet or pan (I use a non stick skillet), heat up butter and olive oil.
Smash and peel garlic cloves. No need to chop them. Add the garlic cloves to the pan with melted butter and oil. Tilt pan or stir to distribute garlic flavor through butter and oil.
Add in green beans. Stir to coat.
Add a few teas of water, cover the pan and let steam for around 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally and add time if needed.
Check for tenderness. I like my beans to have a little bit of crispness left in them. The longer they steam, obviously the more soft they become.
Discard the garlic cloves. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
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