Lemon Garlic Green Beans

Simple, zesty, and fresh – that’s the best way to describe these amazing Lemon Garlic Green Beans. Straight off the farm these beans came, and a bit o’ pizzazz is all they needed to make them pop!They were the perfect addition to a simple meal of corn on the cob and steak. We had big plans to sit down together as a family for dinner last night — something we hadn’t been able to do in just under a week.

Life, however, had other ideas…

…like an unexpected trip to Urgent Care for an x-ray of what turned out to be Casey’s fractured wrist. After he explained what happened multiple times to different clinicians (short version: three separate insults to the same wrist in one day, courtesy of soccer camp), they confirmed the fracture, splinted it, and sent us on our way with strict instructions to not sleep with the  sling on and, especially, NO SOCCER. The last bit might seem silly, but it was critical that last directive came from someone in scrubs with a cute name like Jenny. He sure wasn’t taking my word for it.

A couple of hours later we returned home, and, like any self-respecting teenager, he Instagram’d a pic of his splinted arm. He  smiled and laughed as the sassy/sympathetic comments rolled in, then settled in for the night with his fave movie (Pitch Perfect).

Now that I could see he was A-OK, I realized I was starving. I finally sat down to dinner around 8:30 pm. It turns out these lemony garlicky beans are JUST AS DELISH at room temperature as they are warm! I can’t say the same for the rest of the dinner, but ya can’t win ’em all, right?

Just ask Casey 🙁

Lemon Garlic Green Beans
Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes     Cook time: 10 minutes

1# green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Zest of one lemon
Salt to taste

Steam or boil green beans just until bright green (about 3-4 minutes). While beans are cooking, make a large bowl of ice water (large enough to hold all the beans) Once the beans have reached that bright green color, remove them from the heat and submerse them in the ice bath to halt the cooking. Once they’re cool, remove from the water and drain in colander.

In a large sauté or frying pan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes, or just until light golden brown. Add the drained green beans and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, until the beans are well coated in the garlic-butter mixture and are heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest. Salt as desired. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!