Since one of my October goals was to start preparing veggies in different ways, and because it’s Soul Food Sunday, I thought that a classic southern green bean recipe would be perfect for our Sunday dinner tonight. I had it on my mind as soon as I got these lovelies in my CSA box! This recipe does take some time, but it’s not active prep time. After rinsing and breaking up the green beans, 90% of the work is done. If you’re from the South you know that Southerners love cooking their veggies with meat. It’s usually hamhock all the way, and sometimes even some lard in there too. Of course, I skip the lard. When I’m doing a traditional version like this I do like to use smoked meat, but turkey works just as well as hamhock and it’s not as fatty. The meat adds a delicious flavor, but for a vegetarian version you could skip the meat and just add a little liquid smoke to give it something extra. These are a nice change to your standard sauteed green beans–I have to remember to add these to our rotation. Southern Style Green Beans

• 1 lb. green beans
• 8 c. water
• 1 smoked hamhock or smoked turkey wing
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder

-In a large pot over medium heat, bring the water and meat to a boil. Add in a liberal amount of salt (I’m talkin’ several tablespoons, most of it will dissolve into the water so you need a lot), and 2 t. each of garlic and onion powder. Cover and let cook for an hour. -Rinse the green beans, snap off the ends, and then snap each bean in two. Place the clean beans in the boiling water. Cover and lower the heat to it’s lowest setting. Let cook for 1 1/2-2 hours, tasting for seasoning and stirring occasionally. Let the beans cook completely but you don’t want them overcooked, they should still keep their color. -Serve with a slotted spoon and enjoy! Makes 4 side dish servings. These taste so familiar to me, I love it! We ate them alongside roasted chicken and roasted acorn squash (I used Kath’s method for the squash, delicious!) for dinner. This was an especially exciting night in the kitchen because not only did I have my hubs alongside me to help, but I finally put some of those apples we picked to good use in one of my favorite recipes that I can’t wait to share with you all tomorrow! (Hint: it’s sitting in the crockpot…) Thanks for reading! -Lauren