Delicious Amish Green Beans

There are green beans: chewy, rubbery, watery Jolly Green Giant in a can beans, and then there are GREEN beans, fresh, full of flavor and straight from the garden.  I'm not a huge fan of the former, but salivate at the all too rare latter. I enjoyed some awesome delicious Amish green beans while visiting the Amish community of Flat Rock, Illinois and the recipe is included in my upcoming book, Amish Cooks Across America. The green beans were served at the home of Gloria Yoder who prefers Roma or Jade green beans. And she has some fond memories from her youth, of when she and her sisters would can about 85 quarts a year. “We sat on the ground in a circle and each had a pile of beans in our lap, tossing them into a large bowl in the center,” she recalled. “To make time go faster and keep the motivation level higher, we played guessing games, sang, or raced as we worked.”

 Don't these green beans that she made look amazing?  They tasted as good as they look!  And here is the recipe: 

3 tablespoons butter

2 pounds green beans

1 /2 pound bacon, cooked to desired crispness and cut in small pieces

Salt and black pepper

Seasoning salt

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until browned. Add the green beans to the butter, and stir to coat. Continue heating until the green beans are steaming hot. Add the cooked bacon, along with the salt, pepper, and seasoning salt, and serve.