What I did was saved bacon from breakfast and chopped it up. No liquid except what sweated out of the onions. 2 dollups of bacon fat, add the onion and garlic to sweat. The green beans were fresh, so no bean water from a can. Add the beans and turn up the heat for some color on them. The bacon pieces get tossed in after the beans are off the heat. Need that crunchy element to the dish. Black pepper was the only added. Damn good.