This is my absolute favorite way to eat green beans!
Green Beans + Red Bell Peppers + Slivered Almonds
1 lb. fresh green beans (or however much you want)
1 red bell pepper (orange or yellow would work too)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
slivered almonds
Trim the ends of the green beans and boil, uncovered. I usually boil around 5 minutes. Dump into colander or strainer and rinse with cold water. (At this point, the beans may be covered and refrigerated if you prepare them in advance). Slice red bell pepper into strips, and sauté on stove on medium heat with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Once ready – not TOO soft, because they will continue to cook with green beans – keep on stove over medium heat and stir in green beans, 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, and your preference on the amount of sliced almonds (I usually do about 1/4 cup). Toss and continue to cook/stir so that the balsamic vinegar covers all the green beans, red peppers, and almonds. Cook for roughly 3-5 minutes so that the green beans get thoroughly heated. Remove from stove, add pepper if you please.
Depending on your tastes, you can add more or less balsamic vinegar. Too much and it becomes overpowering though. Also, you can vary the amount of olive oil depending on the size of the red pepper. 1 Tbsp. is based on an average-sized pepper. If you get a smaller one, you can use a little less oil. If you get a large pepper though, I would probably still stick with just 1 Tbsp. You don't want it to get too oily.
