Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil

When I was growing up, my mother ALWAYS served macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes on the side.  While I wasn't nuts about it then, I crave it like nuts now.

So when I was making tonight's macaroni and cheese dinner, I knew I needed to serve a nice fresh veggie side dish and stumbled upon this, and thought it would be an excellent compliment.

I was absolutely right.  This was really tasty, very easy side dish.  I didn't have any shallots around, so just skipped them, but you could very easily use onions if you'd like.

Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil by Giada di Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan Crisps, recipe follows

Directions

Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well; set aside.

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and cook until the juices evaporate and the beans are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and basil. Simmer 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve.