Foodie Non-Friday: Finally…A Green Bean Recipe I Can Get Behind

Hello! I am so sorry for kind of falling off the planet for a few days. It was unintentional I assure you. It’s just that I have been a touch busy, and my writing is the one thing I could table.

I’m certain this has caused great consternation among you.

School started today yesterday a couple days ago, much to everyone’s chagrin (ok not really everyone’s…the 13yo was surprisingly glass-half-full about it; the 11yo and I were not quite so ready for summer to be “over”), and I have been diligently preparing for their studies.

OK, that’s not true. I have been ready for weeks…although I did take a few minutes on Sunday afternoon to peruse the lesson plans.

It’s nice if the teacher knows the game plan before the game begins.

And then last night Monday night, we had some euchre to play. In case you missed it on Facebook, Mr. AR and I partnered up and took on the PBA.

We won.

But they actually won a couple hands so all was not lost. They are not, however, ready to be released into playing with other people. There’s still a little bit of prompting/coaching on our part: “Are you SURE you don’t have a Spade?” kind of thing.

And “Remember, if you have the Jack of Hearts, that’s the left bower and it’s really a diamond…”

So yeah…we’re not ready to be unleashed on other people just yet.

Which brings me to today yesterday. The day wasbeen ok, with the exception of some of the books I bought for our Kindles are refusing to download onto the devices. And don’t message me with a solution unless you know what you’re talking about. I did all the trouble-shooting things that Amazon recommends and it’s still not downloading onto one of the Kindles.

I have been battling this since yesterday. And yes, I chose the word "battling" very carefully b/c it is a battle. Homeschool is sometimes a battle too, but I digress.

And yes, I rebooted the Kindle. Several times…so don’t even ask me that. I am not that extreme in my techno-ignorance.

OK, maybe I am, but I did manage to remember to try the reboot.

Other than that, things are going swimmingly. To quote my 13yo from prayer time this morning:  "Thank you, God, that we've made it to our third day of school and we haven't killed each other yet." (If that's not a resounding endorsement of homeschooling, I'm not sure what is!)

But I have gotten slightly off track. I find that I have done that quite a bit lately…as evidenced above. I began this post on Monday, added to it on Tuesday and am now, finally on Wednesday getting down to business (as an aside, don’t judge me if this doesn’t post until Thursday…I don’t want to hear it from my peanut gallery).

And now to the point of this post: a recipe utilizing green beans. And one that I actually like.

Which brings me to a time for true confessions…green beans are not my favorite veggie. 

Yes, I will eat them when they’ve been in a crockpot with ham or bacon and onions for 12 hours and all semblance of nutrition has long since been cooked away.

But fresh? Straight from a garden? Nope...the idea has always made me slightly gaggy.

And I apologize to Christine for not being completely forthright with her. To be fair, I do not recall her ASKING if I like green beans, but she was SO generous in giving me a lovely haul of them that I could not refuse.

If you know me at all by now, you know that I will use just about anything given to me, you have to know that I would search to find a green bean recipe that I could get behind.

And did I find one.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I had not sought one out before, but since I thought green beans were just shy of vile, it never occurred to me to buy some and try out a recipe.

I’m all about NOT wasting food I’ve paid good money for, right?

And in this instance, I knew we would eat them whether or not they were our favorite.

OK…really for real now. Days and days ago I promised you that I would deliver a post with a green bean recipe.

And now I shall make good on my word. I am certain you were all poised to begin sending Hate Mail to me about it.

Now there is no need.

I apologize for the delay.

Grilled Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
• 1 pound potatoes, diced in large chunks (that’s the technical term)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2-3 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
• On a large sheet of foil, place the green beans, red potatoes, onion, and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with oil. Tightly seal foil around the ingredients, leaving only a small opening. Pour water into the opening, and seal.
• Place foil packet on the prepared grill and turn down to medium heat. Cook approximately 30 minutes, turning once, until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender.

Follow me on Facebook! Or on Instagram (look for "mrsalwaysrandom")