Light + Tasty Green Bean Casserole

Just say NO to mushy veggies!

I grew up eating green beans cold and straight from a can.  Odd?  Absolutely!  But that's how my mom gave them to me and, unless there were mashed potatoes present, that's what I devoured first!  Sometime after college I branched out and tried steamed green beans... then a fantabulous boss of mine introduced me to green beans and feta... and finally, I sucked it up and tried the super popular green bean casserole.  Oh. My. Gosh.

Let's rewind a second.  Have you seen those Campbell's commercials for their green bean casserole?  It plays on loop every holiday season, but in case you missed it, [click here] for the video.  This commercial is the reason I refused to try green bean casserole for yeeeears.  I think it was the visual of the goopy cream of mushroom soup... It turned me off to GBC entirely.  Until I watched Paul's family make it from scratch last Thanksgiving.  To let you in on how my mind works, my thought process went a little like this:

Ewwww Green Bean Casserole!!! 

Oh!  No soup?  Cool! 

Well that seems harmless enough... those green beans look so... GREEN!  

I suppose I should try just a bite.  To be polite...  

OMG THIS IS SO FREAKING GOOD!

 

I went back for seconds.  Thirds even.  

What's in it?

roughly 1 pound of fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

8-12 ounces of button mushrooms , trimmed and sliced

4-6 ounces of french fried onions, homemade or store bought

2 Tablespoons of butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup of mushroom or veggie broth
1 cup of almond milk

a sprinkle of garlic powder if you have it!

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Vegansaurus Chefs use earth balance 

Spicysaurus Chefs try a sprinkle of cayenne + a pinch of red pepper flakes

T-Rex Chefs feel free to use any broth you have on hand and even half and half or milk for the dairy option... but I promise you wont miss either if you try this version =)

Get Cooking!

Preheat oven to 400F. Blanch green beans by bringing a pot or skillet of water to boil, adding green beans, then removing after 3-5 minutes.  You'll want them bright green and slightly tender.  While the green beans are cooking, add ice and water to a large bowl and set aside.  This will serve as your "ice bath" to shock the green beans and prevent them from continuing to cook.  No mushy green beans here!  Once the beans have finished boiling, drain them in a colander, pop em in the ice bath, and then drain again.  Set aside.

Melt your butter in a skillet on medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms, along with a sprinkle of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid.  Next add the minced garlic and 1/4 tsp nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.  Add your flour and stir to combine.  Cook for 1 minute and add the broth.  Simmer for about a minute, then decrease the heat to medium-low.  Add your almond milk and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, for approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly for approximately 15 minutes. 

Sometimes I sneak a little asparagus into the mix too!

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So... How was it?

Duh!  Yummy!  In theory this recipe serves 4, but in reality I only ever get 2-3 servings out of it.  Either one for me and one for Paul.... or 3 small servings for just moi over the course of 2 days.  At least that's standard operating procedure around here =)  It's good. REALLY good!  Like last year, I plan on making this all fall/winter long and probably won't tire of it until I go salad crazy in the spring.  So put down the pumpkin, and make this for dinner.  You'll be happy you did! <3

PS: I'm trying out a new font size!  Look down below at past posts and then back at this one & let me know if you prefer the font a little bit bigger? La La Love your feedback! <3 MWAH!