Green beans are ready in abundance from the garden this time of year!

Ingredients:

• 1lb green beans, ends trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
• 1c onion, small chunks
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2c red pepper, chopped into small bits
• 2tb bacon grease (or 1tb butter and 1 tb olive oil)
• 1c chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Melt grease in a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion, sautee until soft.
2. Add green beans and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until they begin to turn bright green.
3. Add chicken broth, red pepper, salt and pepper.
4. Turn heat to low, cover skillet leaving it open a crack and cook until beans are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

**If you have canned green beans, you can cut a lot of cook time out. I raise the heat to medium high/high after sauteeing the onion and allow the chicken broth to deglaze the pan.  Then I reduce the heat, add the beans, pepper and seasonings and cook until the pepper is soft and the dish is heated through – maybe 10 minutes. If you are using a home-canned beans, I found that it took just about 1lb of beans per quart.  So one quart will be fine for this recipe.