My Mom loved Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce, it was a thing in the 60s & 70s

Thx, Iris!

I always us a few drops in my Salmon Dip. I bought a flavor sampler, so I'll have to hunt down some recipes so I can try them: Hickory, Mesquite, Apple, and Pecan.

The green beans sound delicious! I like green beans, I'm just never happy with how mine turn out - no matter whether I start with canned, frozen, or fresh. I think the best ones I've ever tasted were garlic green beans (garlick longpassers) that we used to make for a yearly high school production/dinner we were involved with, and Red Lobster's green beans. My mom used to do wax beans with bits of ham and potatoes. I haven't had them for eons and the mention of the green beans here just reminded me of them.

A name from the past that as I recall added a delightful flavor to stews etc. Got to get some.

One of the ingredients, I remember, was parsnips. I like adding parsnips to roasts and soups. Do they still sell it?

Maybe you can find it close to home?

Bacon, yes, Green Beans, yeah, onions, yeah. Black pepper... Not sure I can think of anything else, but that was how my Mom used to get my sister and me to eat any kind of veggie as a kid. LOL

On edit, I think sometimes she used part bacon and part diced cooked ham if we had some left over.

Yum!

Edit: just realized how you are cooking them. I sauté the onion in the bacon fat then add dry green beans and diced tomatoes.

Cooking in a skillet adds flavor, too. I'm sure it will be yummy with ham and mashed potatoes. You are a good cook. Always trying something different. Let us know how everyone likes it. Cornbread would be good with that, too.

or maybe Italian dressing?

When I was a kid. Sliced potatoes in the mix, too.

But straight green beans with bacon and onion is ambrosia for the gods....

Used to cook a hunk of salt pork together with green beans (she liked Kentucky Wonder beans) and then serve corn bread on the side and called it a hillbilly dinner.

I never heard of any of this before. But wow green beans cooked with bacon so delicious.

Good luck Duncanpup !

and when you do the beans and potatoes simmer the ham bone and other scraps in some water or chicken broth before you prep the rest of this. do you make it like soup? that was my mother's way. love this dish. don't forget the ton of fresh chopped raw onion to add to your bowl.

What brand of beans are you using? My m-i-l used shellie beans, which back then combined cut green beans and mature beans from the pod. I like Hanover green beans. I don't used canned food much any more, but to me the Hanover brand is really good.

Here is a link to shellie beans: https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjcs_qDmar9AhXT7uMHHbs5AtkYABAEGgJ5bQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRokOosvnXsfsmr8wf4oEG-ouFqp27bnXX4ANl2hI5yqoBOWwU&sig=AOD64_0MvGM3sB8imtCkPpQfI4DRB5YGng&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwif8_CDmar9AhWflIkEHYisCGwQ9aACKAB6BAgBEA0&adurl=

Good luck!

In my family we make green beans with onions and mushrooms and probably too much margarine. If going for a one pot meal, we put in chicken liver.

I love chicken livers although I’m the only one in the house that does well except my domestic WOOF pack they like them as well and the mushrooms thank you I never thought of using them.

try red onions. I've been using them a lot lately.

L’dor vador. From generation to generation.

Mama loved some liquid smoke, but maybe a dash of Worcestershire sauce would suffice? And garlic is good and good for us. I would add cracked black pepper and wouldn’t need any added salt.
Yum. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Duncanpup.
🕊thatcrowwoman

He used fresh string beans and onion, plus pinto beans. He said the special trick was not to add bacon or bacon grease until after the beans and onion started to boil. I have made them like this since then, more than 30 years ago.

Could be similar, never tried the bacon version.

Boil peeled potatoes in water with a Bay leaf (always use a Bay leaf with spuds, you'll taste the difference). Drain and set aside but keep warm.

Brown sausage in a skillet, usually cut into 1/3 - 1 inch pieces. Andouille or brats work with this. Add the onions in time for them to cook and start browning with the sausage. At the end you drain off some of the fat. Add green beans, I usually use fresh or frozen, to potatoes and the sausage/onion mix add salt and a whole bunch of black or mixed pepper. Let sit for an hour then heat to desired temp and serve. A lot of dishes are better if you let them rest a bit before serving.

That might work with bacon.

Add a little sweet pickle juice to it for a more German potato salad sort of flavor, especially with bacon.

the mystery ingredient?

Comfort food. My grandma used fresh green beans. But def your ingredients. Been trying some other of grandma dishes too, they were the best. I sometimes add chicken stock.

or at least a splash of vinegar.

If she foraged, she may have used wild onions, giving a stronger flavor. Red onions with a tiny bit of garlic might approximate it, even if she didn't use garlic in her recipe. The kind of bacon might matter too - did they smoke it themselves? Might it have been smokier than we get nowadays, or cured differently?