Have you ever tried to cook green beans, crisp and tender, for your Green Bean Salad and then got disappointed when the beans came out overcooked or too chewy!  You are not the only one! If you want to make your perfect bowl of green bean salad without any hassle look into these instructions on how to cook green beans, crisp and tender:

1. Always pick up uniform sized and unblemished, green bean with small seeds for your cooking needs. Check if the beans are crisp and tender by snapping off the ends of the beans, if they snap immediately to reveal a fresh inner pod without bending over, they are definitely crisp.Wash the beans thoroughly and then snap of the stems from the bean
   pulling the string out from either side of the bean.
2. By Boiling
3. 1. Cut the beans
      according to your requirement
   2. Boil 1 inch water in a 2 quart saucepan over high heat and add
      the beans to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to a medium low and
      simmer for 8 minutes. Don’t let it boil for long and ensure that they
      are crisp and tender.
4. By Steaming
5. 1. All you have to do is steam the green beans in the microwave for 4 to 8 minutes until it is tender and crisp.
   2. You can also steam the green beans in a metal strainer held over the boiling water.

When making Southern Style beans simmer them with a little ham hock, bacon, onion and one minced garlic for close to 20 minutes.  For Green Bean Casseroles you can use both fresh and frozen beans. When using fresh beans, simmer for 8 min and then mix with the rest of the ingredients before baking the casserole. Once you have got your green beans cooked crisp and tender you can try out some of these interesting Green Bean recipes.