Lean and Green

Last night, I faced one of those decisive moments where I realized I had just about nothing left in my refrigerator. So I took the only logical next step: I moved on to racking through the reliable old freezer.... Well, frozen green beans it was. But I made up my mind not to have bland old steamed veggies. So I combined a few recipes, grated in some gruyere, and ate a casserole dish full of delicious roasted green beans, red onions, and almonds. Now, you can too.

GARLIC ROASTED GREEN BEANS W/ GRUYERE & ALMONDS

*I used this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen as a basis.



THE GOODS 

1 lb. frozen green beans ($1.99)
1 red onion shallots, sliced and taken apart ($0.40)
5 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut into thin slices ($0.40)
1/4 cup almonds, chopped ($0.99)
1 tsp. lemon zest ($0.29)
3 tbsp grated Gruyere, optional ($3.49)
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. salt (or less)
fresh ground black pepper

The Grand Total: $7.56

THE WAY

Preheat oven to 450 F. Peel and cut red onion and garlic, then place with beans in casserole dish Add olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss until well coated with oil.

Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the dish. Sprinkle grated Gruyere on top. Roast 12-15 minutes for thin beans, or slightly longer for regular beans, until beans are slightly shriveled, and onions and garlic are lightly browned.

While beans cook, toss together chopped almonds and lemon zest. When beans are done, toss hot beans with lemon/almond mixture and serve immediately.