Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole is one of the few dishes I truly get excited for on Thanksgiving.  I think its the creamy filling and crunchy top that makes this dish so good!  This recipe comes from Paula Deen.  I wanted to make the whole thing from scratch, but wasn't sure if I would have time with all the other dishes.  So in the interest of making things a little easier on myself, this one I would call semi-homemade.  While you still do a little work by cooking fresh (or frozen in my case) green beans & sauteing some onions and mushrooms, the rest is easy using cream of mushroom soup & french fried onions.  I doubled her recipe to make one 9 x 13 inch pan, reduced the soup as I thought it was too much filling and not enough green beans, and left out the cheese in her recipe.   

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

2/3 stick butter

1 cup diced onions

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

4 cups sliced green beans (I used frozen green beans)

3 cups chicken broth (I used half broth half water)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings (I think I used more)

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain.

Add the green beans, mushroom soup, and about 1/4 of the onion rings to the onion & mushroom mixture.  Stir well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the rest of the onions and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and onions are crispy.