Sauteed Green Beans and Bacon

I ran across this recipe on Pinterest... there were a few different versions out there, so I took what I liked from a couple and did mine own thing. These are delicious as a side dish! Isn't everything better with bacon??

Sauteed Green Beans and Bacon 

• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends snipped off and discarded, extra long beans, cut in half if you want

• 2-3 slices of bacon
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• Salt and Black pepper
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice 

METHOD

1 Heat a pot of salted water to a rolling boil (1 Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water). Add the green beans and boil them for 4-5 minutes, until just tender enough to eat (you may have to cook longer depending on the particular green beans you have). Drain and set aside.

2 While the water is heating up to boil the beans, slowly cook the bacon until crispy in a large saute pan set over medium-low heat. Use a slotted spoon or a fork to remove the bacon from the pan. Set the bacon on paper towels to sop up the excess fat. You should have about one tablespoon of fat left in the pan. Pour off any fat beyond 1 tablespoon. (Do not pour the fat down the drain or you'll stop up your drain.) If you have much less fat than a tablespoon left in the pan, add a little olive oil or butter to the pan.

3 Once the green beans are cooked, saute them over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes in the bacon fat. Dice the bacon and add to the pan  along with the minced garlic and saute another minute. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste, then toss with lemon juice and serve at once.

Yield: Serves 4 as a side dish.