Green Beans with Bacon

Bacon in anything makes it better!  That holds true for green beans too.  I tried this recipe I found on the Internet mixed with other ingredients.  Loved it!  The small amount of heat makes your taste buds wake up and say, "What is the heat in the green beans? Ummm, yummy bacon!" 

Ingredients:

• 2½ lb green beans trimmed
• Kosher salt
• ½ lb bacon roughly chopped
• 1 sm onion finely chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms sliced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• ½ cup pecans chopped and toasted (optional)
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Freshly ground pepper


Directions:

Toss the green beans into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until bright green and crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and shock in a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain beans again and pat dry.

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Spoon off excess bacon grease. Add onions to pan, cook until translucent, add mushrooms, garlic and rd pepper flakes. Cook until mushrooms are limp. Add green beans and pecans; cook until heated through. Return bacon to the pan, pour in lemon juice and toss. Salt and pepper to taste.