Green Beans in the InstaPot, 17 minutes old
My father-in-law is old-fashioned in his tastes. I should have figured that, I guess. He grew up in an era where his mom cooked everything from scratch, and there was a meat and a potato on the table every night.
But the first time I cooked dinner for a crowd including him, I focused on the meat and starch and just kind of threw a bowl of green beans in the microwave for a few minutes. They came out how they always did: bright green and squeaky when you ate them. That's how I had always eaten them. And whenever I had encountered green beans cooked until they were a dull olive color, studded with onions and ham or bacon, I steered clear. I wasn't a huge fan of green beans to start with, and having them cooked to death didn't help matters.
I once read a magazine story that made fun of Northerners' beans, saying all we do is drag them through hot water. That's essentially what I did the first night with my father-in-law.
And as I took my first bite of beans and heard them squeaking between my teeth, I watched my mother-in-law's face. She was smiling. She knew what was about to go down.
Now my FIL, Jack, is a respectful, polite and well-bred man. He wouldn't dream of insulting me or my cooking, but I'll never forget the grimace he made when he took his first squeaky bite of my (barely) steamed green beans. I looked at him, at my MIL, Pat, and back at Jack and he was looking the other way,.
"I like the green beans," Pat said, charitably. "We never have them this way. It's a nice change."
"What way?" I asked.
"I usually cook them a lot longer. Have you ever added bacon?" she asked.
At the time, I was seriously dieting and steamed vegetables were higher on my priority list than they are, say, right now. I rarely did anything to vegetables but drag them through hot water.
I asked Jack if he'd like me to cook them a little longer for him. He said "No. They're fine." But I knew better.
The other day, I was trying to find different ways to prepare vegetables so they weren't so boring and my husband and son said they would like to try Southern-style beans. Well, the fact of the matter is, I'm no huge green bean fan one way or the other, and if my son was saying he'd eat them if I made them that way, I was happy to oblige.
But I wasn't cooking green beans all day. No, sir. Not even for my only child. Pulled pork would be fine, but no vegetables are worth all that hassle. So I Googled Southern-style green beans in an InstaPot and found lots of recipes. I combined a few and the boys (Mr. Jennie and J.R,) ate them right up. I had an obligatory spoonful and they tasted like, well, over-cooked green beans. But there weren't any leftovers.
In the end, I admit it did make a nice change, and I was glad to find another use for my small appliance. So if you like them that way, have at it. I'll be over here. Squeaking.
Instant Pot Southern Green Beans
4 slices bacon
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
1½ pounds green beans, trimmed and cut in half
¾ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Turn Instant Pot on "Saute." Add bacon strips. Cook until bacon is crisp and remove it to a cutting board.
Add onion to the fat left behind in the pot and cook 1 more minute. Meanwhile, chop the bacon. Add it back in.
Hit "Cancel" and add chicken broth. Scrape up browned bits from the bottom.
Add beans and seasonings and stir ingredients put the lid on the Instant Pot. Set to "Pressure Cook" for 7 minutes. After that, let the beans rest and the pressure drop naturally for 10 minutes. Vent the remaining pressure and remove the lid when the pin drops.
adapted from spicysouthernkitchen.com
To receive this newsletter weekly, sign up at https://profile.goerie.com/newsletters/erielicious/.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Southern-style green beans taste like they cooked all day in InstaPot
