Southern Style Green Beans

Usually in the South, when you see green beans on the holiday table, they are in the form of a casserole. You know the one... cream of mushroom soup with the crunchy french onion topping. I never liked the french onion stuff. I changed the casserole to a cheese topping with the cracker and butter crunchy topping, but it seems that my kids kind of skip over the casserole. When I serve them plain, just heated through with salt and pepper, they don't get much attention either. Sooo, this time I dumped them in the crockpot and let them simmer all morning. These turned out to be the best green beans I've ever fixed! (I would have used fresh beans, but I didn't have any available. Use fresh whenever you can.)

2 family-size cans Green Beans, with juice
4 slices Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tbsp of reserved Bacon Grease
2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Combine the above ingredients in a crockpot and set on medium. Simmer beans for 2 or 3 hours or until the beans take in the flavor of the seasonings. The juices will darken as they cook down. This juice is awesome with a chunk of cornbread!