It’s that time of year again. The time when I have the excuse to make my favorite side dish in spades, the honorable green bean casserole.
On this one, you can cheat a little, or get super into the details. I won’t judge you either way.
You can go totally canned, but may I suggest using fresh green beans this year? And don’t microwave them in the bag unless you really want a time saver. Cooking them doesn’t take long and it is worth.
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 2, 10 ounce cans of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup of whole milk we always use local Producers Dairy
- 1/2 cup of excellent cheese like Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold
- 6 slices of bacon chopped
- 6 ounces of sliced California mushrooms
- 2 Tbl of California olive oil
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 8 cups of cooked green beans or 4 14 ounce cans of green beans drained
- 1 can of fried french onions 2-3 cups
- Salt and an ice water bath if you will be cooking fresh beans
Instructions
- To get started pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Next bring 3-4 quarts of salted water to a boil.
- Prepare fresh beans by removing any stems. Next make an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice water and having it ready next to the stove.
- Once your water is boiling, add your fresh green beans. Cook them for 3-4 min. and immediately plunge the beans into your ice bath. You can skip this all together if you would rather use canned beans. In that case, open and drain the beans and you are ready for the next step.
- Next, heat up 2 Tbl. of California olive oil, and sauté 6 ounces of California grown mushrooms.
- In a casserole dish, combine your canned cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of whole milk and 1/2 cup of good grated cheese.
- Next, add your pepper and half of your friend onions and bacon pieces. Pour in your mushrooms.
- Once combined, add your green beans little by little, tossing them in the mixture.
- Finish by topping you dish with the rest of your fried onions, bacon and some more cheese.
- Bake at 350 for about 25 min.
You can do all of this a day ahead, and refrigerate if you like. When ready, bake at 350 for about 25 min.
You won’t be sorry you added cheese and bacon this year. I promise!
