Are these fresh green beans? I always used canned and they taste like fresh. You can use any green beans really.

I just add butter, season salt and some grated garlic then bake them in the oven about a hour.

You can cook them on Sunday for a hour in the over or just do them for about 30 min the day before then back in the oven the next day till they are done and most of the water has evaporated.

I did that for Christmas. Blanched mine the night before. Next day, Just heated them in a large skillet with the other ingredients, right before serving. Used my cast iron skillet. I just tossed them around until heated.

If you add the lid, you'll steam them and won't have that crunch.

Enjoy!

This post was edited by glenda_al on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 19:12

OK, thanks everyone.

Yes, they are fresh, Joann.

You can cook raw green beans in a little more than 10 minutes in boiling water, there's not much advantage in doing them in advance. You'll spend almost as much time and effort to reheat them as you would to cook them from raw and you'd risk overcooking them.

60 minutes in the oven will turn them into the consistency of half-melted gummy worms.

Sorry joann but canned green beans have neither the pleasing texture nor the taste of fresh ones. No how, no way. In fact I think other than beans, most canned vegetables are pretty gross. It's better to stick with fresh or frozen.

There is an advantage in preparing them the night before: Time

Worked well for me, and they weren't overcooked at all, when I reheated them right before serving.

My SIL's kitchen is not too large. It's a big group, and with others trying to reheat their things, the less I have to do, the better.

Snidely, it would take an extra-large pan, 20 mins to get quite a bit of water boiling, 10 more for blanching, dealing with a heavy pan of boiling water in a crowded kitchen (where is your colander???), people waiting for me to get done so they can do whatever on the stove....so I disagree with you about the time.

This post was edited by socks12345 on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 20:25

You could always do a cold bean salad. Blanch the beans then rub the inside of your serving bowl with garlic. Add olive oil, vinegar and salt. Mix and let marinate overnight. Before serving add some fresh mint and mix. Yummy.
Satine

satine, your idea sounds great!

Thanks

Am I the only one who doesn't like green beans to be crunchy??? Our family likes them cooked until soft. NO crunch allowed. I used to always burn the beans when I did them on the stovetop. Now I put them in my cast iron dutch oven and bake them on 350ú for 2 hours, turn off the oven and let them coast for another hours. They are always perfect. Even my SIL who doesn't like green beans loves them.

My gosh! I have never heard of cooking green beans for that long! I'm not stating this as a criticism at all, but I just can't fathom it. I wonder if it's a regional thing.

Satine, I agree with Glenda. That cold salad idea sounds really nice!

LindyLuWho - Grandma would prepare beans similar to your way. She always added salt/smoked pork, onions, and potatoes when slow cooking them. They were delicious!

Have you ever tired Leather Britches Beans (dehydrated, then cooked, green beans)? They are to die for.

I love green beans any way I can get them - raw, steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted, broiled, microwaved, hot, cold, room temp, canned at home, canned from the store, frozen, or right from the bushes in the garden! Mixed with any and everything, or all on their own.

When Mom was pregnant with me she craved green beans from the time she suspected she was pregnant until my birth. When she started feeding me soft foods, the first food she gave me was soft, mashed green beans. She says I went wild for them, gumming and drooling in a fit of joy.

To this day I still cannot eat enough green beans. I can eat all I can hold; I can stuff more in...but I still want more. they are my favorite food.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leather Britches Beans

This post was edited by caroline on Sat, Apr 19, 14 at 16:28

I don't have much (any) useful advice to offer, being a less than mediocre cook.

But am wondering somewhat whether Caroline is showing some signs of an addiction? Looks like a rather long-standing one, at that.

o j

I think I would prepare them the night before, undercook them and just put them on reheat in the microwave at SIL's. If they're too al dente, you could always do them a minute or two in microwave.

No crunchy green beans for me. I like mine long and very slow cooked with onion, bacon or ham and sometimes potatoes. Salt and pepper too.

Sue

When I cook mine in the oven I start by cooking chopped bacon, onions and garlic. I also put a package of Goya ham flavoring. That goes in with the beans in the cast iron pot with 2 cups of water. They are ideal if the water all cooks out but it doesn't always happen.

I know that sounds like a long time but the prep is fast and the oven does the rest. I don't usually put the potatoes in with the beans because I use a really small pot and there isn't room.

If you do like the crunch, I'd say 5 min. to blanch is more than enough. If you feel like they're not soft enough the next day after warming, you can always pop them in the micro for a minute or two.

I think beans cooked with other things can take that longer cooking. I was sure I only liked green beans nice and crunchy, but the Indian recipe I was trying had me cut them very small then cook for quite some time. The flavors melded into a wonderful taste, and there wasn't that mooshy-green-bean taste that I knew so well from childhood. So I eat 'em both ways now.

I grew up eating green beans cooked slowly with all the fatty seasonings. Love eating them in the summer time with chopped riped tomatoes, chopped onions mixed in them and a slice of cornbread. Yummm!

erin, a favorite ethnic restaurant we go to (not an Indian one) serves a mixed vegetable accompaniment that includes green beans that are cooked beyond recognition. If the main dishes and other elements at this place weren't so awesome, the veggie mush would dissuade me from going back. When ordering, I've started telling them they can leave off the mixed veggies from my plate.

A lot of us "seasoned citizens" grew up eating fatty food period, not just seasonings, although less so in some areas (like the West Coast) than in others (the South). What we all know today is that avoiding fried and fatty food contributes to better health and longer lives. I'm happy to enjoy al dente string beans a cappella (with no butter or oil in the preparation) and leave it to others to do it how they prefer.

Rhizo, I don't know if it's regional but I am from Georgia and current live in Alabama.

Both my Grandmothers cooked the beans well done. One was from WV and one from Georgia. They always said "Don't thump the beans." That meant don't stir them while they are cooking. They will get mushy.

I fix my green beans just like Marilyn Sue. I also add a dash of white wine vinegar while cooking to cut the green taste.