VEGETALI ALLA MARIE!!

This is a great side dish that I make for special occasions. It is a highly requested vegetable dish, that my family loves. Every time I make it, the whole thing gets eaten up! and believe me I make a lot! I think it goes great with a ham, pork,a roast of any kind. I make it as a side with any baked pasta dish, like a lasagna, or stuffed shells, you get my point, pretty much anything you make for a special meal. I think its a combination of flavors, and the choice of veggies that makes this taste so good! This is an old family recipe that I've been making for years, and we never get tired of it!

Here's the ingredients, and by the way, you use all frozen veggies!! ( Of course you can use fresh if you want to) Make as much as you want, maybe a bag or 2 of each vegetable, I'm sorry but I never measure, it all depends on how many people you are serving. I fill a huge pan and always use extra artichokes. There is no set rule, you can adjust the amount as you wish. :-)

Italian flat beans
Artichoke hearts
Asparagus
Lima beans

1/2lb. of meaty bacon (diced up small)
Garlic flavored olive oil ( a must!)

First thing you do is to take all the veggies and put them in a strainer and let them defrost.

In a large saute pan, cook your bacon until real crispy, hopefully there won't be a lot of fat in the pan cause you bought meaty bacon,:-) but if there is, drain it off, and leave all the crispy bits. Next coat the pan with some garlic olive oil, this is a must! Then, put all the veggies in the pan all together,and on a med high heat, turn often till coated with the bacon and garlic oil, blending and scraping up the crispy bits. Salt and pepper it to taste, and you can even add a little regular extra virgin olive oil for some added flavor.
You really have to keep tasting this as it cooks, for enough salt and pepper, and enough olive oil flavor.

When everything is heated through, and all the flavors blend together, its done! There's something about the combination of the artichokes with the lima beans and all the other ingredients that make this taste so good!!

Buon Appetito