Green Bean Casserole

This has been one of those family traditions that I have greatly missed, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas! I was determined this year to figure this one out for me and the kids...

I got a new cookbook and it gave me ideas on how to do it, although - like with most recipes - I have already started making modifications.

The biggest problem with the green bean casserole, and the big hold up, had been the fried onions (French's Fried Onions are NOT Gluten Free) and the condensed cream of mushroom soup. Of courses I modified the regular recipe when I used to make it for family dinners anyway, but these and of course the green beans were essential ingredients!

I took ideas from several recipes from "Gluten-Free Deliciously" by Jennifer Cinquepalmi and of course modified them.

First the Fried Onions -

Thinly slice onions (I used medium yellow onions and they were WONDERFUL) and separate into individual rings. I ended up using about 3 medium onions.








For breading - I put approximately equal amounts of GF Pretzels (I use the Ener-G Circular Pretzels; cant remember the name right now) and Rice Chex in my food processor and combine until a fine powder is formed.










In a medium skillet put about 4 TBSP olive oil and warm. Place onions in skillet and sprinkle about 2 TBSP Brown Sugar (I always use Light Brown Sugar) over onions.

Stirring frequently cook until very tender.

Put the breading into a bowl and in small batches take tender onions and put in breading and mix well to cover. This is where my recipe really differs. In the book it says put them aside and they are ready to use. They were WAY too soft for my liking! I put the breaded onions into the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes and they were crispy and tasted absolutely wonderful and very similar to the French's! They are definately not the same, but you get the idea - and they are probably actually healthier (like most things that I end up changing!).









Cream of Mushroom Soup - (I doubled this recipe for the casserole.)

1 cup cold milk
2 TBSP cornstarch
1 1/2 TBSP butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon (I use Frontier Chicken Flavor Broth Powder as I cannot find GF bouillon)
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper (we use less so I just sprinkled a little in)

I also added 1/2 tsp garlic powder as the first batch did not tast right to me.

The original recipe calls for 4-oz can mushroom pieces and I prefer to use fresh mushrooms, which I had already so it worked great. Learned from first batch that I needed to add them sooner in the process though.

Directions -

In a small saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch until WELL blended. If you dont you will end up with clumps of cornstarch. Stir in butter, bouillon, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. I added the fresh mushrooms as soon as the butter started melting. Once boiling, simmer on low for about 1 minute or until thickened to desired consistancy.

(You can substitute 1/2 c chicken pieces for cream of chicken or 1/2 cup chopped celery for cream of celery.)

Green Bean Casserole -
Finally to the actually casserole. The other steps are actually really quick and easy and this is not much different.

Mix the Cream of Mushroom, some of the fried onions, and green beans (this is one time I just used canned green beans, rare thing now!). I used about 32 oz, drained. Mix these well.




Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.









Top with remaining fried onions and bake additional 10-15 minutes.



Robert did not care for the onions on top, but of course he has never been fond of onions. Katherine does not like it because it has onions in it and Daddy does not like the onions. LOL

I thought it was wonderful! Next time I will just make me onions to put on the top of mine. :)