Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

Five Little Chefs – Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

Little Chef D did a wonderful job cutting off the ends of the beans. She used a steak knife because that is all she is able to use safely. She HAD to cut both ends off!  While she was cutting she said, “Excellent, excellent I love it!”

This was our first time blanching. All the Little Chefs gathered around as I explained blanching is only partially cooking the beans and then we take them out and put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. They saw how bright the color became when they blanched.  Little Chef C helped with this process.

Little Chef D wrapped the green beans (with Little Chef Dad’s help) with bacon. She did need partner for this task to wrap them tight enough to stay together!

Making the sauce was easy. Little Chef D put in the butter, then loved adding all the following ingredients. It makes her feel so big like her sisters to measure and pour!

While eating Little Chef D said, “I think I put too much salt. It’s too spicy.” In reality that was not the case at all. She has heard her sisters say the same thing many times and since this was HER recipe she had to say something about it!
Little Chef C said “I can’t taste the salt.” I explained salt helps bring out the natural flavors. We had all the flavors of the sauce, salt did not need to dominate.
We had the potatoes in the oven at a lower temperature, so we added these to the oven and cooked them longer. I would have preferred the bacon a little more crispy. I does have a nice presentation!  The Little Chefs gave this recipe mixed reviews when asked if we should make this again.

Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

1 lb. green beans with the ends snapped off (buy or pick about 1 1/2 pounds so you’ll have 1 lb. after the beans’ ends have been snapped)
8 slices lean, regularly sliced bacon
3 Tbsp. real butter (no substitutions!)
1 Tbsp. minced red, yellow or white onion
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of freshly grated black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly slated water to a boil.
2. If you’re using fresh green beans, wash and snap the ends off. Discard any sickly looking, overly skinny, or limp beans.
3. When the water is boiling, briefly boil (blanch) the beans for 2-3 minutes or until you start hearing a popping noise and the beans have turned bright green. Quickly drain and rinse the beans in cold water until they have cooled.
4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
5. On a cookie sheet, divide the green beans evenly into 8 piles. Carefully wrap each pile of beans with one slice of bacon and return to the baking sheet.
6. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and sizzling.