Just in Time for Thanksgiving: New Green Bean Casserole Recipe
We’ve had a lot of green beans this year in our produce box, and we were looking for a different way to prepare them. Good old green bean casserole came to mind, yet the thought of using Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom canned soup was intolerable. So I looked up the Cream of Mushroom soup recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and it’s really simple to make. Homemade soup is the ticket here. Make extra to eat by itself or with cardboard! ;0)
We added some other veggies and cooked quinoa. This is so delicious!! It satisfies as a side dish or the main course. You could almost serve this instead of stuffing at Thanksgiving. It’s worth the extra steps, and can be prepared ahead.
New Green Bean Casserole
This makes enough to fill a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish. Amounts of vegetables are approximate.
4 – 5 cups chopped fresh green beans
1 cups sliced mushrooms (crimini)
2 cups diced roasted butternut squash
1 crown broccoli chopped (about 4 – 5″ diameter)
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 – 5 cups cream of mushroom soup (recipe below)
Optional: ½ can of Trader Joe’s Fried Onion Pieces to sprinkle on top
Preheat oven to 425˚. Start preparing the cream of mushroom soup. As onions and mushrooms saute, peel and dice the butternut squash, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and put into oven to roast. Roast for approximately 25 – 30 mins, turning once. When done turn heat down to 350˚.
Chop the green beans up into small pieces about 1″ or 2.5 cm long, and saute in olive oil on the stove just until they start to get tender, but still very crunchy, about 5 minutes.
Place the sauteed green beans in the casserole dish with the rest of the vegetables and the quinoa. Mix in the cream of mushroom soup until all is well-coated and you see a bit of soup along the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with half a can of Trader Joe’s Fried Onion Pieces. Bake in 350˚ oven for about 20 minutes.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham
[makes 3 cups]
NOTE: Make a double recipe to have enough for casserole and a bowl or so leftover.
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup finely chopped onion
½ pound mushrooms, chopped fine (I used crimini)
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup cream
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Optional: 2 tablespoons corn starch
Melt the butter in a pot and add the onion and mushrooms. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for a few minutes more. Slowly add the stock, and heat, stirring, until it reaches the boiling point.
**For extra thickness for the casserole recipe, I also added 2 tablespoons of corn starch dissolved in ¼ cup cold water after I finished adding the broth and let it boil for 1 minute before turning heat down.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, add salt and pepper to taste, and reheat before serving.
Vegetable broth instead of chicken broth is also delicious. To make it vegan, I would double the cornstarch and add a cup of soy milk.
–Katy DeBra, ©2011 (except for Fannie Farmer soup recipe.)
Here's a view of what's left, cut into two pieces. (Lucky I remembered to take a picture before it's all gone!)
Art Luminous: Living a Color-full Life 