One of my favorite ways to cook fresh green beans is either as a ham soup, when a ham bone is available, or in the crock pot with bacon and tomatoes.
If you are allergic to nightshades and can't do the tomatoes, you could exchange them for a few sliced mushrooms, use more green beans, and add a cup or two of chicken broth instead.
I've done it that way too.
In fact, when I turn the beans into a soup, I rarely add tomatoes. The ham or bacon and some chopped onions really give the soup a lot of flavor.
If you are allergic to nightshades and can't do the tomatoes, you could exchange them for a few sliced mushrooms, use more green beans, and add a cup or two of chicken broth instead.
I've done it that way too.
In fact, when I turn the beans into a soup, I rarely add tomatoes. The ham or bacon and some chopped onions really give the soup a lot of flavor.
Right now, we have plenty of meat in the freezer.
We've been able to find some great deals on protein in our new area, here in Texas, so I decided to do the green beans in the crock pot instead of making soup.
The weather is beginning to warm up a bit, and hubby wanted potato salad in his lunch for this week instead of something warm.
We've been able to find some great deals on protein in our new area, here in Texas, so I decided to do the green beans in the crock pot instead of making soup.
The weather is beginning to warm up a bit, and hubby wanted potato salad in his lunch for this week instead of something warm.
Prepping the Fresh Green Beans for the Crock Pot
I have an oblong shaped Crock Pot that's about the size of a 9x13 bake dish.
It's something that Crock Pot came out with in 2014. (Casserole Crock Slow Cooker, I think it's called.) It doesn't do a pork roast very well, as the roast is generally too tall to fit comfortably into the pan, but I thought it would be perfect for the green beans.
It's something that Crock Pot came out with in 2014. (Casserole Crock Slow Cooker, I think it's called.) It doesn't do a pork roast very well, as the roast is generally too tall to fit comfortably into the pan, but I thought it would be perfect for the green beans.
Unlike other crock pots, the lid clamps shut, so you don't lose any water through steam. That's especially helpful for me, since steam triggers the vertigo, but it can be helpful for you, too, because you won't have to keep checking the pot to see if it needs more liquid.
You can simply toss the green beans and other ingredients into the crock, set the temperature on high, and walk away for the day.
You can simply toss the green beans and other ingredients into the crock, set the temperature on high, and walk away for the day.
Fresh green beans take a long time to cook in a soup pot, which is why I decided to cook them on high. They take about 3 or 4 hours over the stove to get them really, really soft.
If you just want them crisp-tender, they don't take that long, but since this type of crock pot cooks at a lower heat than other slow cookers, I opted for the high temperature.
If you just want them crisp-tender, they don't take that long, but since this type of crock pot cooks at a lower heat than other slow cookers, I opted for the high temperature.
Prepping the beans was easy.
I just ran them under running water in the sink to remove any dirt or other debris, and then cut off both ends of the beans. Once the ends were cut off, I sliced the beans into one-inch pieces and tossed them into the crock pot.
I just ran them under running water in the sink to remove any dirt or other debris, and then cut off both ends of the beans. Once the ends were cut off, I sliced the beans into one-inch pieces and tossed them into the crock pot.
If you like longer beans, just cut them to whatever size you like. The length of the beans won't affect the cooking time.
The amount of beans you use depends on how many you want to cook. I cut up a little bit more than a pound for this batch. Next time, I'll use the whole 2 pounds, as there were too many tomatoes in relationship to the beans.
Adding in the Goodies
After I had the fresh green beans on the bottom of the crock pot, I chopped up half of a red onion and about a quarter of a super large red sweet bell pepper and tossed them on top of the beans.
On top of the onions and peppers, I added some chopped raw bacon ends. You don't have to use bacon though. Ham or sliced sausages would work well in this too. I just tossed in whatever we had.
If you're going to cook the beans without the canned tomatoes and bell peppers, I'd probably brown the bacon or ham first in a skillet, and then use the chicken broth to deglaze the pan before adding it to the beans. That way, you could scrape up all of those delicious browned bits for the best flavor.
I think when I do this again, I'm also going to add a can of sliced mushrooms. I think they would be very good in this.
On top of the beans, onions, peppers, and bacon, I dumped a can of Western Family diced tomatoes in tomato juice. Make sure you use plain diced tomatoes -- unless you've called the company to confirm that the tomatoes are gluten free.
I once had a violent reaction to a can of diced tomatoes that also contained caramelized onions. I'm guessing there was barley in there to improve the flavor.
Lesson learned!
I once had a violent reaction to a can of diced tomatoes that also contained caramelized onions. I'm guessing there was barley in there to improve the flavor.
Lesson learned!
For seasonings, I used a little seasoning salt, a large scoop of minced garlic from a jar, and some dried basil. Basil is a sweet Italian herb, so it goes really well with the green beans and tomatoes.
*If you're using a standard Crock Pot where the steam escapes, you'll probably want to use more liquid than I did to start with. Maybe add a couple of cups of water or broth to the crock before popping on the lid. And if you're doing this over the stove, you'll need a lot of water. Enough to completely cover the green beans.
Turn the Crock Pot on High and Enjoy Your Day!
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| Dinner: meatloaf, salad with homemade Thousand Island dressing, and the fresh green beans |
I let the fresh green beans cook for 8 hours on high, and they were still not as soft as we like them, but they were very good. That might be because the crock pot I have cooks everything on a lower heat than others do, but it also might be due to the age of the beans.
Older green beans take longer to cook than young ones do and that might be why we got them so cheap.
If you're using a standard crock pot where steam escapes, make sure you keep an eye on the amount of liquid in the pan and add more as needed.
Older green beans take longer to cook than young ones do and that might be why we got them so cheap.
If you're using a standard crock pot where steam escapes, make sure you keep an eye on the amount of liquid in the pan and add more as needed.
This made a lot of beans!
About 8 servings.
It would have made even more if I'd added all of the beans we bought. It also made a lot of liquid on its own. I served the beans with a slotted spoon and added a pat of butter on top of them for extra flavor.
About 8 servings.
It would have made even more if I'd added all of the beans we bought. It also made a lot of liquid on its own. I served the beans with a slotted spoon and added a pat of butter on top of them for extra flavor.
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