Thank you all for welcoming my brother to the blog so warmly the other week! You all are sweet – but you’ll really, REALLY love him if you actually try that corn casserole. Personally, I’m looking forward to eating it again at Easter.

But – and I hate to bring it up, but I figure you might need to know – I have a really good side dish recipe that would be great at your Easter dinner, too.

No! I’m not competing with my little brother! I’m NOT. I’m JUST SAYING that he’s not the only one with a good family dinner type of recipe on his hands. And mine has bacon AND brown sugar. So. There you have it. That’s all.

Really.
Okay?
Okay.
Moving on.

I pin a lot of recipes, but – and this is going to really shock you – not a whole lot of them feature vegetables. I just looked. I have 45 pins in my “Fruits and Veggies” board, but 160 pins in my “Dessert Should be Eaten First” board. I even have more breakfast pins than fruits and veggies. Breakfast! That’s just one meal, not even a food group!

Crazy.

And irrelevant, now that I think about it. Because despite my sometimes aversion to vegetables or anything healthy, I pinned a recipe for “Southern” green beans. Actually, it was a recipe for “quick, Southern” green beans.

I’m using those quotes because a) I’m pretty sure anyone in any state or region could eat these green beans and agree that they are delicious, and b) it’s possible the original cook and I have different definitions of the word, “quick.”

Still, quick or not, Southern or not, this recipe from Mary over at Chattavore has become one of my favorite things to cook for family dinners.

Except, well, I don’t really follow the recipe exactly. Since I’m making it for my whole family, I double or triple it. {You might be thinking that’s why it’s not a “quick” process. And, yup. You might be right.}

Still, it’s worth the time. (And it doesn’t take THAT much time, okay? Don’t worry, fellow procrastinators and overwhelmed-by-to-do-lists-and-lifers!)

Southern Green Beans

4 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup brown sugar
salt and pepper

Cook bacon over medium heat until almost crisp. Whatever you do, don’t drain it! The bacon grease – I’m sorry, DRIPPINGS – are what make these beans Southern, after all. Add onions and cook until soft-ish. Add the green beans and chicken stock to the pan. Once it’s simmering, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes more. When the green beans are almost as soft (or firm) as you want, remove the lid and crank up the heat. After most of the liquid is gone, add the brown sugar, season with salt and pepper, stir and serve.

My next goal is to make these in the slow cooker. I’m pretty sure it would work great. I just need to remember this goal more than an hour or two before I’m scheduled to be at a family dinner with green beans in hand.

What’s your favorite veggie side dish?

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