Apricot Glazed Green Beans

Forget the canned green beans, these fresh green beans are cheaper and take about 3-4 minutes longer. These would be the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving meal. I could not get enough of these.

They are savory from the bacon, sweet from the apricots, and you get a fresh crunch from the green beans. These take no time to prepare and your tastebuds will be ever thankful. So this year, give the green bean casserole a break and prepare these, I promise, no one will even notice that the casserole is missing!
Source: Tide and Thyme, via Women's Day

Ingredients:
1 lb of Fresh Green Beans, trimmed
6 pieces of Bacon, cut into pieces
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup of Apricot Preserves
3 tablespoons of White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt. When the water is boiling, place the green beans in and cook for 3-4 minutes. While they are boiling, get a bowl and fill it with ice water. When the beans are done cooking, immediately place them into the water to stop the cooking for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water and set aside.

Next, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon and put on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Now, add the garlic and shallots to the skillet, let brown, 1-2 minutes. When brown, stir in the preserves, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Let this cook until the preserves have melted down, add the green beans to the pan and toss to coat.

Transfer to another bowl or serve from the skillet.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
The Barbee Housewife