Pickled Dilled Beans
4 pounds fresh, tender green or yellow beans (5 to 6 inches long)
8 to 16 heads fresh dill
8 cloves garlic (optional)
½ c. canning or pickling salt
4 c. white vinegar (5 percent)
4 c. water
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (optional)
Wash and trim ends from beans and cut to 4-inch lengths. In each sterile pint jar, place one to two dill heads and, if desired, one clove of garlic. Place whole beans upright in jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Trim beans to ensure proper fit if necessary. Combine salt, vinegar, water and pepper flakes (if desired). Bring to a boil. Add hot solution to beans, leaving ½ inch head space.
Know your altitude prior to selecting your processing time. Adjust lids and process in boiling-water bath for five minutes if your altitude is less than 1,000 feet, for 10 minutes if your altitude is 1,001 to 6,000 feet or 15 minutes if your altitude is above 6,000 feet. Makes about 8 pints.
Soup-er Creamy Vegetable Soup
2 tsp. butter 2 c. green beans
1 small onion, chopped ½ tsp. salt
1 (14.5-oz.) can fat-free chicken broth ¼ tsp. pepper
1 large potato, cubed ¼ c. all-purpose flour
1½ c. sliced carrots 2½ c. reduced-fat milk
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth, potato and carrots; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for five minutes. Add green beans, salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes. Place flour in a medium bowl. Gradually stir in milk, mixing well. Add milk mixture to soup; bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for five minutes, until vegetables are tender and soup has thickened.
Makes four servings. Each serving has 180 calories, 2.5 g fat, 9 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber and 580 mg sodium.
Snap Bean Provencal
1 (16-oz.) package frozen green beans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Heat the olive oil over moderate heat in a skillet. Add green beans and sauté until heated through and soft-textured. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped parsley just before serving.
Makes eight servings. Each serving (before added salt) has 40 calories, 2 g fat, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber and 0 mg sodium.
Fresh Green Beans With Creamy Basil Dip
½ pound fresh green beans, washed and stemmed
1/3 c. low-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. low-fat milk
1 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
Wash beans well and snap off ends. Mix together all of the ingredients for the dip, leaving out the green beans for dipping. Keep everything refrigerated until just before serving time.
Makes four servings. Each serving has 35 calories, 0.5 g fat, 1 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber and 160 mg sodium.
Key to abbreviations
c. = cup oz. = ounce
tsp. = teaspoon g = gram
Tbsp. = tablespoon mg = milligram
Funding for this publication was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM170100XXXXG005.
Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
For more information on this and other topics, see www.ag.ndsu.edu