Sauteed Green Beans and Mushrooms
I have a lot of “recipes” that I use when I need shortcuts. Since I only have a small, limited amount of strength and energy, I usually put it towards an entree. Generally, I use a lot of frozen vegetables or do something easy with fresh vegetables. We eat a lot of roasted vegetables because they are so simple for me. Rice and boxed couscous mixes are some other easy sides that I fall back on. Since I had almost nothing to do with dinner preparation a few nights ago, I could work on a side dish. We had two large Shiitake mushrooms in the refrigerator which needed to be used quickly. Finding a bag of frozen French cut green beans in the freezer, I figured I could work with this. Sauteed Green Beans and Mushrooms was our side dish.
I bought my husband a shiitake mushroom growing kit at Christmas time. We got a HUGE first crop from the kit which we dried and hopefully they will show up in a future recipe. Our second crop consisted of just two giant shiitakes. Not enough for a whole side dish for four people, but enough to flavor other vegetables. My husband had harvested them 4 or 5 days before, and I had squirreled them in the refrigerator. The refrigerator police reminded me that they were in there. Although I wanted to use up my shiitake mushrooms, almost any variety would work. If I had wanted to use fresh green beans, I would have steamed them first for about 2 minutes in the microwave. I have had to let go of some of my pre-wheelchair ideas about things like this. Frozen would be good enough.
Luckily, the temperature was in the 50’s, and I had a husband who was just itching to grill after three months of upstate New York winter. Thanks to the new butcher in town having the pre-marinated chicken and my husband being happy to be outside grilling, I had nothing to do with the main course. I just had to microwave the gnocchi. I could put a bit of energy into a vegetable dish. After a long winter of planning and cooking main dishes, I had the opportunity to put together a different side dish, Sauteed Green Beans and Mushrooms.
Sauteed Green Beans and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Frozen Whole OR French Cut Green Beans (or alternatively, fresh Whole Green Beans or fresh whole Haricot Verts, steamed for a minute or two in the microwave)
- 4 oz thin sliced Mushrooms, cut into 2-3 inch thin slices (shiitake, white, cremini, porcini, or portobello)
- 3 Tablespoons Butter divided
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Few grinds Freshly Ground Pepper
- (After I made the dish, I thought maybe I could have added a few Tablespoons of sherry or vermouth to the mushroom saute, but I didn’t try it, so I will have to experiment next time)
Instructions
- Defrost 16 oz. of whole green beans. Lightly squeeze excess water out of them. Set aside.
- Heat a large fry pan and add 2 Tablespoons of butter. Heat until just starting to froth. Add mushrooms in a single layer. Leaving them unstirred for the first 3 minutes, cook over medium heat. Stir, cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring once or twice.
- Add green beans and 1 Tablespoon of butter, stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally until green beans are hot.
- Add salt and pepper, stir. Taste, add more salt and or pepper if needed.
