Some people call "snap beans" by an older name - "string beans". This is because at one time, most green beans had to have the strings removed before cooking. This is still the case with many varieties, including some favorites for flavor as green beans. Some varieties of common beans also develop fibrous pods when quite young. On the other hand, some beans which are great as green beans are less tasty than other varieties when used as "shelly" or dry beans. I don't know how Great Northern rates for quality as a green bean, but it is renowned as a dry bean and is probably also good as a shelly. If you're new to growing beans, it's best to try a variety noted for quality in the stage you want to eat it. Or grow one which is noted for quality at all stages. "Black Valentine" is one of these. Some people love Pinto beans as green beans even though the string must be removed. They are also good as shellies or dry beans. You can also choose whether you want to grow "common beans" as pole or bush beans and choose varieties which do well in your climate. For example, "Contender" bush bean does well in the South in spring, but develops fibrous pods if grown in cool fall weather (though still valuable as a shelly or dried bean). "Provider" and "Bountiful" do not do well in dry, hot weather, but are old favorites in New England for snap beans. Lima beans are a different species and are used only as shellies or as dried beans - the pods are not eaten. Many cowpeas (still another species) can be used as snaps, shellies or dried. But usually, "snap beans" refers to common beans.

One year I did have a good crop of rattlesnake beans that made it through the summer still producing somewhat, and I did an experiment to see if they would perk up in the fall, or if the beans that I planted for the fall would overtake them. The Spring planted beans were a disappointment continuing their demise instead of perking up, and the newly planted beans were prolific. So much for that experiment. I have very good luck planting cream peas and summer peas in the summer. I use cream peas and other summer peas as snap beans when their pods are small. They are similar in flavor and good. I have planted half runner beans in july successfully. They were able to take the heat one year. It was NOT any of the hot years that we have had lately. as for Yard long beans. Some LOVE the heat as long as they are kept moist. I will warn you that some long beans are for cool weather. They have MANY varieties. I have three planted right now.

My answer of bacon fond was kind of a tongue in cheek answer because of the thread we had on foods we eat when no one is looking. To cook green beans I much prefer fresh, will use canned and frozen when I must. There really is no comparison to the fresh. I first brown some bacon in a pan until crispy, then remove the bacon and set aside. I deglaze the pan with mostly chicken broth and add a little water and salt. Sometimes I'll crush a few cloves of garlic and add, fishing them out later. Then I add a whole onion to the top of the beans and simmer away. I sometimes fish the onion out when they are finished and sometimes leave it in. When beans are cooked the crispy bacon can be broken up and added to the top of the beans. I love new potatoes cooked in the beans toward the end of cooking time. I don't mean what the grocery stores call new potatoes, but the real thing which you can rarely find.

It's the seasonings that are different for one big pot than four little ones--as you know since you don't quadruple! For instance, when you double a recipe, you don't double the salt or it'll be too salty, but you do need to increase it. With spices, it can go the other way, where a half teaspoon is plenty for a small pot, but you need more than double for the same flavor in a bigger pot. (Don't ask me why--I don't know--it seems a lot like tuning a piano. You can't go by the math, you have to temper it.) With things you think will be too strong, you can start careful, taste just before you leave the house, and just when you get back, and adjust. I know that's not a good crockpotty thing to do, but the best way to know how it tastes is to taste it! Do you use salt? It doesn't take a lot, and your onions might have enough salt in them, but beef tastes bland and blah without at least a little salt. And, yes, celery could change it a lot! Celery has a lot of water and salt. Green peppers have a very distinct flavor and will totally change the flavor of a pot of chili. Carrots are sweet, as is corn. All are good, and I'd put them in too, but they can change the basic flavor. I might also add zucchini, which is just a bit wet and doesn't add a big flavor component. Rather than cooking down the veg in the chili, you might just want to steam or roast them to just tender and have them as additional mix-ins. Or have them cooked and ready, but just stir them into the chili as soon as you get home from church, so they're warm and have gotten a good coating of sauce, but haven't changed the base chili much. Or you could dish up in a couple of big oven safe bowls and do one with veg stirred in, and maybe a smaller one as is if you think there will be people who won't eat the veg, and put them in the oven to keep warm until you're ready to serve and let them meld that way. Since you're talking about tacos and hot dogs, why not get 100% corn tortillas? You can grill/toast them ahead of time and put them out as wrappers for whatever people want to put in them. If your guests aren't looking for a lot of starch/sweet you could even do that instead of the cornbread. Do heed the hot dog warnings! I had lovely fresh handmade top quality tasty hamburgers for Independence day and people flocked to the not so great hotdogs that one guest (with permission) brought to suit himself. Even people who imagine themselves as foodies love a good gristly nitrate-laden salty old hotdog! If you don't want to have hotdogs for everyone and change your whole menu from chili to chili dogs, you could get the miniatures, or cook and cut up some regular ones to be used as more mix-ins (and hold a couple whole ones back for the kids who just don't want the chili). I've been going through some of the same thing. I have a Celiac, a couple of pescatarians, a nut allergy, one who won't eat things where all the ingredients are mixed up in a pot, like a stew, and one who won't eat just about anything, and is allowed to bring his own (like the hotdogs) if it's not formal sit down. If it is formal sit down, he gets a baked potato (even if it's not on the menu--a hold over that everyone understands from one who was in very poor health for years before he died but could always eat a potato) and whatever else he's willing to deign to eat, and he can get his own dinner at home. :) Best of luck with the menu, and that it turns out easy after your good planning and organization, so you get to enjoy the day and the company.