LEMONY GREEN BEANS

ditch the canned green beans, and go fresh! this recipe uses flavor instead of fat to make vegetables tasty. the combination of steaming and sauteing leaves you with tender, not soggy, beans and the addition of the tart lemon juice and the salty parmesan makes even healthiest of foods a family favorite.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and ends trimmed
½ cup water
tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tbs parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
-put beans and water in a medium sized pan
-cover and cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes (until beans are just tender)
-add 2 tsp olive oil into the pan over the beans, toss to coat
-cook for an additional 5-7 minutes stirring the beans occasionally
-beans should start to brown and shrink/shrivel slightly around the edges
-turn off heat and add lemon juice, lemon pepper, and cheese, toss to coat
-serve as a side dish, enjoy!

SHOUT OUTS:
after years of steaming, salting and buttering green beans i decided to kick 'em up! and the addition of lemon juice and parmesan makes just about anything taste good.

TIPS and ADAPTATIONS:
-try this recipe with asparagus instead of green beans
-leave out the cheese if you'd like to make it dairy free, you just may want to add a sprinkle of salt instead
-the combination of lemon juice, lemon pepper, and parmesan cheese is great atop vegetables when roasting them in the oven or on the grill too!