Green Bean Bundles - Delicious!

Yes, color me crazy, but I went to 3 different grocery stores and HAND-SELECTED 160 green beans to make up 20 bundles for my 2nd shift dinner Tuesday night.  Only the best for the best!  :)

Green Bean Bundles

Adapted from this recipe

10 slices of bacon (1 for each bundle)

1/2 pound fresh green beans (I hand-selected my green beans at the store and counted 8 beans per bundle to ensure I got the pretty ones)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 c. brown sugar 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1-2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Toothpicks
Parchment Paper
* Of course, double this recipe if you make more than 10 bundles.

Note: This recipe is supposed to yield 10 bundles, but I didn't weigh my green beans -- I manually hand-selected them and counted them out right there in the store. So for 10 bundles, I would count out 80 green beans (that way you can select the same size beans and get only the pretty ones.)

Partially cook your bacon

I cooked my bacon on parchment paper in a preheated 400 degree oven -- the same as I do for my Saturday morning breakfasts, except I only cooked halfway. Keep a close watch on it until it's PARTIALLY cooked. I think 7 minutes in the oven did it for mine.  If you cook the bacon in the oven, follow my post here, or cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until partly cooked, but not crisp. Bacon needs to easily bend to wrap around the bundles.  The white fatty part of the bacon is translucent.  Drain on paper towels, and place a paper towel on top and dab the bacon to remove excess grease. 

Beans

Most recipes I read said to 'blanch' the beans, cooking for only two minutes in boiling water.  For me, after two minutes cook time, the beans were still basically raw.  I boiled my beans for at least 20 minutes.  The beans had that (cooked) color to them, but still weren't completely done.  I guess it's a personal preference.  Drain beans and rinse with cold water.  Count 7-8 beans to form your bundle and wrap with the partially cooked bacon.  Secure with a toothpick.  

Sauce

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring, until the sugar melts.

Bake
Preheat over to 375 degrees.  Arrange green bean bundles in a 13" x 9" casserole pan (or larger) lined with parchment paper (if you have it), or tin foil works well too.  A cookie sheet works well too (the kind with an edge too it so nothing drips off).  Brush mixture over the bean bundles with a basting brush.  Bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through.

These green bean bundles are so delicious and I am always 'secretly' hoping there are a few bundles left after everyone leaves.  

Enjoy!  ♥