Green Beans!

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The kids and I just did the third picking of our green beans yesterday morning.  I only planted 1 ½ rows so was not expecting a huge amount.. but it was enough to have to stop and deal with!  J   I made a double batch of my 3 Bean Salad and canned it and Leanne helped to get the rest of the green beans blanched and in the freezer.    


Here is the recipe for the 3 Bean Salad: 


3 Bean Salad
Makes 6 qts.


 


6 cups green beans
6 cups cooked red beans
4 cups cooked garbonzo beans
2 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced thin
2 large green peppers, seeded and sliced
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup lemon juice
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 t canning salt
5 cups water 


Wash green beans, snap off ends and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces.  Blanch and cool immediately.  Prepare and set aside all other veggies.   In a large stock pot, combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and water.  Bring this to a boil and remove from heat.  Add the oil, and salt, mix well.  Add beans, onions, and green pepper to the mix and bring to a simmer.  Marinate for 12 to 14 hours in the refrigerator.  When marinateing is over, heat entire mixture to a boil.  Fill clean jars with the mixture.   Add any amount of the hot liquid necessary to bring the level of the jars to ½ inch from the top.  Put clean lids and rings on and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes. 
 


Blanching Green Beans 



If I am not looking at huge amounts of green beans I find it easier to freeze them instead of canning.  Blanching is the process of putting veggies in boiling water for a certain amount of time and then putting them in ice water when the boiling time is up.  This stops enzyme growth which would otherwise make your veggies soft as they sat in the freezer.   


To blanch green beans you need to boil water and set a basket strainer in the water.  Add green beans and wait for the water to come to a boil again.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Pick up the strainer filled with beans out of the boiling water and dump into a sink full of ice water.  Swish them around until the cool down completely.  Put in zip type freezer bags, label and freeze. 

Comments

  1. HweaklandAugust 4, 2009 at 6:02 AM

    I recently harvested 13 lbs of green beans and with all we already had in the freezer was looking for a bean salad recipe to can. Thank you for posting one! Can't wait to try it out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NadineAugust 4, 2009 at 6:04 AM

    Hi Crystal -


    So you do not have to pressure cook the salad, only water bath? I have always put my beans in the freezer, as I don't have a pressure cooker. Is it because they are more like pickles? I would love to give this a try, as it is my son's favorite salad!


    Thank you!

    ~Nadine


    Nadine's Nook

    nadinesnook.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. KimMCAugust 4, 2009 at 8:08 AM

    Thanks for sharing! I think I'll give yours a try instead of my dilled beans this year. I'm doing lots of plain beans right now to.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousAugust 4, 2009 at 8:16 AM

    Thanks for posting this salad Crystal, what lemon juice do you use, fresh or bottled and does it make a difference?

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousAugust 6, 2009 at 8:09 AM

    I am a military spouse and live far from my home in Maine. Every year we have a northern Maine green called fiddleheads that only is grown in the wild. I miss it so much being in the south, so I had my mom ship me some to freeze. I ended up blanching and freezing 15 lbs of them and now have a freezer full. We enjoy them and now that I have learned how to "put up" fresh veggies, I think we will need a larger freezer. Your recipes always turn out very well. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. bfitzAugust 9, 2009 at 3:34 PM

    I am so happy to have stumbled upon your blog. And just in time for summer harvesting and canning! Thanks for all the tips and recipes. God bless.

    ReplyDelete

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