This bean mix came to me when I wanted a unique way to use up all my leftover homemade salsa; however, I think it could work great even with your favorite jarred salsa. It's an easy and delicious way to jazz up those green beans!

Meatless Southern Style Green Beans
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These meatless "Southern-Style" green beans are not your typical southern green bean dish.  They contain no animal products or broth.  Although veggie or chicken broth would be a lovely addition if you have plenty on hand and are looking for an additional layer of flavor. 

Another name we could use for this dish would be country, diner, or even home style beans. Whatever you choose to call them, they'll make the perfect accompaniment to a meatloaf dinner, or double up and take along to those summer pot-luck cookouts! Everything is made to be simple with this recipe (I use that word loosely hah), but feel free to season these up with your own twist – a shake of cajun, smoked paprika or even a sprinkle of dried onion can really add to the great mix of flavors.

Recipes such as this are just guidelines, so make it your own and adjust any ingredients below to your specific preference – Enjoy!

Ingredients you will need:

• Olive Oil
• Large Onion
• Fresh Garlic
• 1 Can Rotel Original, drain if you wish (I didn't)
• Half pint Grape /Cherry Tomatoes
• 1-1.5 lbs Fresh Green Beans
• Salt and Pepper
• Dried Chili Flakes

Let's prep the "salsa" mixture!
I've been using a pull-string manual food chopper and can definitely say it's made prepping food 100% more enjoyable, and stress-free!  There are quite a few models on both amazon.com and amazon.ca – You may find another model works best for you!

Dice up the following ingredients (preferably with that handy-dandy food chopper)
• One medium white onion
• Half pint grape/cherry tomatoes
• 5 cloves fresh garlic (less or more, this is your preference!)
Mix together in a bowl with a sprinkle of salt, and set aside.

Let's prep the green beans!
1-1.5 lb Fresh Green Beans
Trim the ends and cut in half or thirds (depending how large you want your beans)
Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

Let's Cook!
In a large pot add your green beans and cover with fresh, cold water (about 3" above), along with 1 tsp salt.
On medium high heat, bring water to a rolling boil for about 2 mins.
Reduce heat to med-low.
Next add in
1 Tbsp of olive oil (a little more if you love your olive oil and that silky texture it brings to food – you can eliminate if you do not consume oils)
The fresh salsa mix
One can of original rotel tomatoes
A few dashes each of salt, pepper and chili flakes.

Cover pot and simmer on low for about 30 mins.

Check in on your beans frequently! 

Once beans start to become a bit soft, remove lid, continuing to simmer.
If you notice the liquid evaporating quickly, but beans are not super tender, add a little more water or broth as needed.
Continue simmering until almost all liquid has evaporated.

In total this takes about 60-90 mins for the perfect texture!

Remove beans from stove, give a quick squeeze of fresh lemon and serve 🙂

What to serve with your Southern-Style green beans?
Meatloaf
Sausages
Cornbread
Baked Beans
Scrambled eggs

Going completely meat-free?  You may enjoy this Veggie Loaded Lentil Loaf