I think Billy Currington said it best with his lyrics “Thank God for good directions and turnip greens.” I love greens and especially turnip greens! This recipe is great for just them, or you can mix and combine any greens together as well. The trifecta for me is collard, mustard, and turnip greens together, but this time I stuck with the classic original turnip greens. I love to serve these aside grilled chicken and sometimes I’ll even eat a big bowl of them for breakfast. I also like to shake a little pepper sauce on them to wake them up a little bit! Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients:
1 big bunch of greens roughly chopped (you can get these already chopped in a bag in the salad isle if you don’t feel like doing them yourself)
1 sweet onion chopped
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
6-8 slices of bacon chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
1/8 tsp (pinch) of cayenne pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube (I only use Knorr brand)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Pepper
Olive oil
3 cups of water

1. In a pot saute onion with a little olive oil for about 15 minutes on medium to high heat. You want them to start caramelizing before you add anything else in. Once this happens, put your bacon in and cook for about 5 minutes before adding your chopped garlic in. Continue to cook for another 7-10 minutes or so until the bacon is mostly cooked. (I know traditionally in the South people use a ham hock here, but I really do prefer the bacon flavor over the ham hock. Scandalous, I know!)

2. You’ll probably have to do this in batches, but start adding in handfuls at a time chopped greens. You’ll need to saute each batch for a few minutes to make room for the rest to make it into your pot. Once you’ve done this 2-3 times, you should be about finished with wilting down your greens. Now you can add your seasonings.

3. You’ll want to add your water to the greens just so that they’re slightly covered. For me, this was about 3 cups. Then you’ll let the greens simmer with the lid on for a while until they are tender and delicious.

*Note* Some people like to add the actual turnips into the greens and serve them with them as well. If you want to do this, get out your best peeler and a glass of wine, because this will take a little time to get the turnips peeled. Chop them up into bite size pieces and add to the greens when you’re adding the water. You’ll need to let them simmer for at least 30 minutes for them to cook, and you might consider adding additional seasoning. Taste it first though before you add anything to make sure. Enjoy 🙂