Garlicky Green Beans with Mushrooms

I made up this recipe, trying to copy Boston Market's green beans. This is almost as good (!) and I now make this vegetable dish often. I don't always use mushrooms, and I sometimes add feta cheese if I'm serving it with a mideastern dish, or blue cheese if I'm serving it with a hearty meat. A lot of times I just make the green bean and garlic part!

First, melt the butter over medium high heat in a skillet.



Add the mushrooms and saute them for about a minute. They'll have more time in the pan, so you don't need to cook them too long.



Then add the frozen or fresh green beans and the garlic. I like both Archer Farms and Hanover green beans. I use fresh when they're in season, but frozen works just fine. If you're using fresh, you'll want to steam them for a few minutes first; it will take a LONG time to get them to the proper tenderness in this method.

Stir the green beans around so they get coated with the melted butter. The butter will start to stick to the frozen-ness of the green beans; stir around til they're all good and coated.


See the speckles on the beans? That's the butter coating the frozen bean. Yum.

Then cover the pan and let the beans simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place the beans in a serving bowl or on individual plates and top with feta or blue cheese, if you like.

For more great green bean ideas, visit the In Season Recipe Swap, Ingredient Spotlight.

Garlicky Green Beans with Mushrooms

2 Tbsp. butter
4 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms (1/2 of an 8 oz box)
1 16 oz package frozen green beans
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
feta or blue cheese crumbles

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Add the green beans and garlic and stir well to coat the beans with the melted butter. Cover the pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until tender and hot. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with cheese crumbles to taste.