Emotional Green Beans

So as you know, I am with child these days. Ha!  For unknown reasons, probably hormones, I do some crazy things while in this condition.  Many of these crazy things involve tears.  I was a bridesmaid in an amazing wedding over the weekend.  More details on that in a coming blog post!  The rehearsal dinner was catered by a great company that serves up country cooking.  All the dishes were delicious, but I got really hung up on the Sweet and Sour Green Beans....as in, they were so good to me, I cried...seriously.  I cried over green beans.


If you live in the South, you know that the perfect green bean dish has to have savory, sweet and sour elements to the flavor.  This recipe has the perfect balance of all those elements.  I asked the caterers to tell me how they made them so I could try to duplicate the emotional experience at home.  Here is my version of the recipe.

Emotional Green Beans

Recipe:
1 lb. fresh Green Beans (You can use canned...I used fresh to make the recipe a little fancier!)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 small jar diced Pimentos (drained)
1 clove minced Garlic
Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees and wash the green beans (if fresh).
2.  In a measuring cup, blend the oil, sugar, vinegar and garlic.  I microwaved mine for a few seconds to dissolve the sugar.
3.  Put the green beans in a casserole dish and pour over the oil mixture.  Add the pimentos.
4.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and if fresh, bake for 45 minutes.  If you're using canned, bake for 30 minutes.

So after my little crying episode and getting sufficiently laughed at and made fun of by everyone at my table, I went back for seconds of my soulmate green beans.  I just got another plate and filled it with green beans...really.

Crazy-eyed pregnant lady, with a plate full of green beans!

By this point you may be thinking "this chick is insane and I don't think I'll be reading her blog again".  But at least try this recipe and grab a box of tissues just in case...especially if you're like me at all (extra hormonal and prone to get really excited about food).