Crunchy Garlicky Green Beans

One of our favorite super green veggies is green beans. The Boos favorite way to eat them is blanched then dipped in ranch. Hubby and I prefer them hot, garlicky and crunchy. LifeAsMom's weekly recipe swap is a pot luck theme this week. So be a hero at the next pot luck you attend and bring the green veggies. Vegetarians, dieters and foodies will all appreciate your dish. These are great hot at dinner, but taste just as good room temp if you can't keep 'em warm on the buffet table.

Not to mention this is an affordable dish, especially if you can nab green beans on sale. Fresh green beans only for this recipe. You can use frozen, but they won't be crunchy. This recipe is also participating in Pennywise Platter Thursday where you can find plenty of nourishing fare on the cheap.

Yeah, it takes a little time to snap fresh beans, but do it at night while you're watching a show. It won't kill ya! Or better yet, let the kids help and see if they'll nibble them while they work.

Crunchy Garlicky Green Beans

2-4 pounds of fresh green beans, stems removed (leave the curly tail on)
1 TBSP oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
salt and pepper to taste (you could add some red pepper flakes if that's your thing)

Rinse green beans and bring a large pot of salted water in a dutch oven to a boil. Add green beans and stir beans. Set timer for 2 minutes. When timer goes off, strain green beans and immediately put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once they're cool, strain the water off. (this is called blanching by the way...) Meanwhile, heat dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil, then add cold beans, stir to coat with oil. Add garlic and stir constantly until garlic is fragrant about 1-2 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature. Leftovers go in the lunch box. Or chopped and on a green salad.

This recipe is also participating in Cooking Thursday.

Kid Appeal Tip One of the best ways to make the vegetables relevant to young kids is to get kiddos involved in the meal preparation. Snapping beans is perfect for kids of all ages, even toddlers (double check their work!) When the Boos were younger, a bowl of beans would keep busy little fingers occupied while I prepped other dinner items, and made a great pre-dinner snack. Even now that they usually play in the other room while I cook, they run into the kitchen and swipe beans to nibble raw. If you're working together, prompt your kids to try one raw (show them how it's done). After they go in the water, look and see how the color changes. At dinner see who can make the loudest crunch when biting into a bean. These long green beans make great finger foods for toddlers with teeth, and are great to practice taking bites off larger pieces of food. When the Boos were little I used to pick the beans up and tickle their hands with the little curly tail at the end. They loved it. Now that they're both learning to write, I bet it would be fun to draw a letter in the air with one, then gobble it up.