Southern Crock Pot Green Beans

Nothing better than some fresh picked green beans.  And, they're so easy to make!  You just need a few ingredients, a crock pot or stockpot and a little patience :)  Notice some of the ingredients are "approximate".  For recipes like this - and many other good Southern cookin' dishes - your senses are more important than the actual measurements.  Does it look right? Does it smell right?  If you can answer with an ummm-hmmmm...then you're doing it right ;)

Ingredients:

8 - 10 good size handfuls of fresh green beans - preferably from a nice local produce stand - but many grocery stores sell loose green beans in the produce section

Chicken broth - just enough to cover the green beans

1 handful chopped onion or a few shakes of onion flakes

3 pieces bacon (torn into pieces) or a small chunk of fatback

1 clove garlic

1 spoonful of shortening - if you used fatback instead of bacon or if your bacon is extra fatty, you will not need the shortening 

Clean beans in a vinegar/water mixture and drain well.

Snap beans - snap beans??? - don't flip...it just means to pop the ends off of each bean and then "snap" them into nice sized green beans :)

Place all ingredients in the crock pot or stockpot and cook on low for about 4 hours or until the beans are tender and the whole kitchen smells delicious