This was a new recipe I tried out this year. Before, I would just used canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and canned fried onions to create this yummy casserole. However, I had a desire to ditch the cans and make it all from scratch. I have been making my own “cream of” soup base for some other casseroles, so I was confident about that part. Then, I found this recipe that used pan fried shallots in butter in place of canned fried onions. I used that idea, but used onions instead of shallots. I don’t have a great picture of the finished casserole, but you can see it in the bottom of this picture of our dinner, toward the left. We all really enjoyed it, and this will be how we make it from now on.
Green Bean Casserole
What you need:
Cream of mushroom soup base:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and cut as desired
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced into rings
4 tablespoons butter
How to make it:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a 3 quart sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter for the cream of mushroom soup base over medium-low heat. Stir in mushrooms, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in flour, and cook for 3-4 minutes to lightly brown the flour. Next, whisk in the chicken broth and 1 cup milk. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened.
Meanwhile, prepare a large pot of boiling water and a bowl of ice water. Blanch green beans in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove and place in the bowl of ice water for 5 minutes. Drain water from green beans.
Add the blanched green beans to the pot with the thickened cream of mushroom base. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, Worcestershire sauce, and ground black pepper. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
While that is simmering, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add onions, and toss in melted butter. Cook onions in the butter, until they become a golden color. Remove to a paper towel to cool.
Mix in half of the cooked onions in with the cream of mushroom and green bean mixture. Remove from heat.
Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour green bean mixture into the dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Casserole should be bubbly. Gently stir. Add the remaining cooked onions over the top of the casserole. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, being careful to not overcook the onions on top. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve.
My Gems of Parenting 
We love our French’s fried onions… did you consider flouring the onions to make them crispier? (Would that even work? LOL)
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Yes, you could flour the onions first. The flour may not stick perfectly, so you might have to dunk the onions in a beaten egg or a little milk first to get it to stick better.
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