Lima Beans with Monterey Jack & Bacon

I don't like lima beans Or at least I didn't think I did. Then one night my husband mentioned liking them. I thought maybe I'd try them sometime if I could find a good recipe.

I found one. My boss received a Southern Home cookbook as a gift from one of the agents in our office and I was flipping through it one day. I saw this lima bean recipe and knew that I absolutely had to try it. It's lima beans baked with vegetables cooked in bacon fat and monterey jack cheese. When my mom & I started planning our Christmas dinner menu, I knew these would be an awesome vegetable side dish.

These were fantastic. The beans had so much flavor. I didn't feel like grating a block of cheese, and I couldn't find pre-shredded, so I just chopped my block of cheese in small pieces and mixed it in. Each bite had crispy bacon, sauteed onions and celery, chunks of gooey cheese and, of course, the beans.

This recipe is definitely going to become a staple in my side dish rotation!

Lima Beans
(Recipe adapted from The Best of Southern Living Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 2 10 ounce packages of lima beans
• 1.5 cups of water
• 8 slices of bacon; diced
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• 1 block of Monterey Jack cheese, either shredded or chopped into very small pieces.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine water & salt in a large saucepan & bring to a boil. Add lima beans and cook for 8-10 minutes.
3. Drain beans and add to a large mixing bowl.
4. Saute bacon in a medium skillet and cook until crispy. Transfer bacon to the bowl with the beans. 
5. Saute onion & celery in the bacon drippings until the vegetables are tender, and then add to the beans and bacon. Mix in the cheese and combine all ingredients thoroughly. 
6. Pour the beans into a 2 quart baking dish, and bake for 25-30 minutes.