Recipe: Green Bean Salad (baked with bacon or ham, onion and mushrooms)

GREEN BEAN SALAD

1 lb fresh green beans
6 slices smoked bacon or sugar-cured ham
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup hot water
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

String the beans and trim the tips so that the beans are uniform in length. Arrange the beans in a shallow 8x11-inch baking dish.

Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove from the heat, drain, and crumble; set aside.

Saute the onions and mushrooms in the bacon drippings. Drain off any excess oil.

Add the chicken broth made by dissolving 1 chicken bouillon cube in 1 cup hot water. Add the seasonings and crumbled bacon. Pour over the green beans.

Cover and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. The broth in the casserole may be thickened with 1 tablespoon flour blended into 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil to form a paste. Return to the oven and bake until the broth is thickened.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Is This Country Cooking? This Is Country Cooking! by Carlo DiNapoli