There is a new Fresh Thyme store near us, so Mary Jo and I had to check it out. One of our finds was fresh green beans for 88¢ a pound. Make way for green beans with mushrooms and bacon!
Fresh Thyme farmers market is only in 10 states, so if you are lucky enough to have one near you, you have to check it out. Here’s a link to their current stores, Fresh Thyme stores. They have great prices on produce and weekly specials. For example, along with the green beans, we picked up 8 pounds of organic strawberries for 10 dollars! While cleaning the berries, we ended up eating 2 pounds before we got them into bags and into the chest freezer. Great stuff.
To make this dish, I cooked up the bacon after chopping it into 1 inch pieces then saved the bacon grease to use later.
I washed the beans and cut off the stem ends and put them into a bowl, added a couple tablespoons of water, and microwaved them for 4 1/2 minutes. They still had a slight crunch, which I like. If you like them softer, nuke them for another minute or so. Just keep checking them, but be careful…they are really hot!
I haven’t mentioned the garlic that I’ve been using this summer. It is Amy’s homegrown and it is juicy and delicious. If you have a farmers market near you, try to get some fresh, homegrown garlic. It is a lot more flavorful than the store bought.
If you can find some fresh green beans, (or you could use frozen beans), give this recipe a shot. It comes together quickly and the bacony flavor is outstanding. The printable recipe for green beans with mushrooms and bacon is below. Joe x

Fresh Green Beans with Mushrooms and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lbs . fresh green beans , cleaned and de-stemmed, (or whole frozen)
- 8 oz . button mushrooms coarsely sliced
- 5 slices thick cut bacon , cut into 1" pieces
- 3 or 4 large garlic cloves , coarsely chopped, (2 tbsp or so)
- 2 tbsp bacon grease
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Microwave the green beans with 2 or 3 tbsp water in a bowl until the desired doneness, 4 to 6 mins., drain and reserve
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet on medium high heat until nicely browned, (8 to 10 mins), remove to a paper towel lined plate and save the grease.
- Add 2 tbsp bacon grease to the skillet on medium heat, and add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant
- Add the chopped mushrooms and salt and saute until softened, 4 or 5 minutes
- Place the beans and bacon into the skillet and toss to combine and heat for 2 minutes.
- Serve hot
Nutrition
Absolutely loved this entire recipe until you said crispy for the beans – sorry I can’t do crispy green beans – gotta go a few more minutes so they’re softer…love the mushrooms, etc. Will be making this one very soon – over abundance of green beans (and tomatoes, by the gallon) so any saucy recipes will be welcome up here in Delaware (p.s. I’m a Floridian =born down there in 1941 and still come down there for the winter cause I truly can’t exist in the cold and snow !! )
Hi Marie, thanks for the comment. I used to like my veggies softer, but my tastes have changed. We’re headed back to Florida in a few weeks…before the snow hits in Minnesota!