Southern Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped ((1 oz))
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon ((or 3 oz diced ham, pulled pork, smoked sausage or smoked turkey)
• 1 whole bay leaf
• chicken or ham broth to cover beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tsp white or red vinegar per pound of beans
• sweetener to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Dice bacon and cook in the pot over medium heat until crispy, about 6 minutes. If using ham, add 1 tablespoon of bacon grease or oil to the pot and brown the ham. If using smoked sausage, slice or dice the sausage and brown in 1 tablespoon bacon grease or oil. If using smoked turkey, skip this step but add 1 tbsp of bacon grease or oil to the pot for the onions.

2. 2

   Wash and trim beans, chop the onions, and slice the garlic while the bacon is cooking. If you like crispy bacon, remove bacon now, otherwise leave it in the pot to cook with the beans.

3. 3

   Add the onions and bay leaf to the pot and saute until the onions have softened. Add the garlic and beans and add enough broth to just cover the beans. (If you like your beans with vinegar and a little sugar, add it now. I go by taste.)

4. 4

   Bring the pot up to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and simmer the beans for 40 minutes up to 1 1/2 hours for a pound of beans. I like my beans more firm, so I cook for about 40 minutes or until the beans are tender when pierced with a fork. Traditional southern green beans are cooked for a long time!

5. 5

   Serves 4 at 5 net carbs each.