With summer coming to an end and fall starting to roll in, it seems like everyone with a garden is offering up extra vegetables they may have available. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have no luck growing tomatoes. Luckily, I have a few friends that have perfected the art of growing tomatoes here and decided to share their bounty. With a 5-gallon bag filled to the top with cherry tomatoes, I knew I needed to find recipes that would allow us to enjoy the early fall flavor — and to use a lot of tomatoes. This recipe hit both marks. Simple and quick to prepare, this healthy dish is packed with flavor — within the first few bites, I knew this would be a favorite I’ll make again and again.

First off, let’s start off with the tomatoes. I’d highly recommend using the most ripe tomatoes you can find – the flavor of the tomatoes in the dish is fantastic, but you also have a sweet treat to enjoy as you cook.

After measuring out the tomatoes, it’s time to get the other ingredients together. To go along with the simple theme of this recipe, most of the ingredients are items you likely already have in your pantry: olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

The main ingredient: green beans. If you have fresh green beans from your garden – great! If not, you easily could substitute frozen beans that have been defrosted.

Once the beans are cooked to tender-crisp (or to your preferred texture), it’s time to add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or just until it becomes fragrant. Then, add the tomatoes, stir and cook until the tomatoes just begin to break down.

Remove the pan from heat, stir in the vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Then, sit down and enjoy a healthy dish with a taste of fall — no matter what the actual weather is outside. Delicious!

To see the full recipe, please go to http://bit.ly/Rz4es0.