A side dish to complement a meal. The medley of flavors in this dish awakens the senses: a bit sweet, salty, and savory makes for happy taste buds. It’s also a dish you can prepare ahead of time and place in the oven prior to serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
• 1 package of bacon
• 4 tbsps. of butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 3 tbsps. brown sugar
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• fresh cracked pepper

Preparation:

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick spray; set aside.

In a large pot, bring water to a rapid boil, and cook green beans for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the water and green beans into a colander, and immediately run cold water over the beans to stop the cooking process. Separate the green beans into bundles consisting of 8-10 green beans. However many bundles you have, is how many slices of bacon you need. I’ve seen some recipes that instruct halving the bacon and using the halves of bacon to wrap around the bundles. Personally, I like to use a whole slice of bacon. It’s all based on preference.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With the bundles set aside, in a large skillet, cook the bacon slices slightly; not thoroughly, about 5 minutes or so. You don’t want them to crisp up because then the slices will break as you wrap/ tie around the bundles. The cooking process will continue in the oven anyhow so by the time it’s all done, you won’t be eating undercooked bacon. Remove bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the grease.

In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter and whisk in the salt, garlic powder, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Wrap or tie the bundles with the slices of bacon. Use a basting brush or drizzle each of the bundles with the sauce until used. Top the bundles with freshly ground pepper.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Serve with meal.