My Goodness, My Greenbeans!

Somehow I made it through Thanksgiving weekend without having to really cook anything.  I did make homemade cranberry sauce, but that's super simple.  And I was left on Monday after the holiday with not a single left-over.  No "Gobbler" sandwich for me!  That just wouldn't do.  I must have turkey leftovers.

So that Sunday I bought myself a turkey.  Hey, they were on sale!  W00t!  But.... after doing the math, a 20lb turkey would not cook in enough time for the day that I had left myself.  Booooo.... Yes, you read that correctly, a 20lb turkey... for 2.5 of us.  It was the smallest Market Basket had...  So... into the freezer the bird went for a few days to be cooked the following Sunday, this past Sunday.

To go with it?  Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in 50/50 water/chicken stock.  Mashed butternut squash.  Stuffing, inside the bird.  And green beans.  But not just ANY green beans.  Recently, at a holiday meal at work, they had made Green Beans with sliced almonds.  They were awesome!  And during that same week, my mother-in-law made a similar recipe.  They were awesome!  So, now, I must make green beans, with almonds.  Oh no, but I don't stop there.... let's add bacon, and cook them in the bacon grease, with garlic.  Yep, I used bacon grease again!  Does life get any better?  Let's play!

Ingredients:

• Several Handfuls of fresh green beans.  Washed and trimmed.
• 3-4 slices of crispy MAPLE bacon, roughly chopped into bits, you want to be able to see and bite them, not disappear so chop accordingly.
• Small handful of salted, roasted almonds.  I just chopped mine.  Pre-sliced cost more.
• 1 medium clove of garlic, smashed and finally chopped

Time to Cook:

• Have a nice big breakfast that morning, eggs and maple bacon, go head, cook a whole pound.  Set 3 or 4 slices aside and pour out most, but not all of the bacon grease.  You'll want to leave a small slurry on the bottom of the pan.  Keep it as is, set the pan aside until you're ready later that day to make the beans.
• Ready?  Heat your large skillet with the bacon grease still in it on med-high and add the green beans.  Cover.  Adjust temp as necessary.  Cook and toss occasionally until they are at just under your desired firmness.  I like mine to still be crunchy and bright green (more nutrients retained that way)
• Toss in your chopped bacon, garlic and almonds.
• Continue to cook and move around until green beans are at your desired firmness.

Serve.  Sorry there is no picture of this one, but I wasn't sure how it was going to come out.  And voila, who knew, it's amazing!!!  I find that mixing the bacon and almonds into my stuffing if they are sitting next to one another on the plate was very delicious too.

Enjoy!