My Pioneer Adventure #2 - Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

There were some really super smells coming from my kitchen on Saturday! I made three recipes from Ree's cookbook. I will break these recipe reviews into three different posts to keep this from getting too long. So you will have to stay tuned for the other two. And hopefully by the time they are posted I'll have another one to add.

Today I'm talking about Green Bean Casserole. You can click the link for the recipe, because it's on her blog. I actually made this last year to take to a family gathering and it was a big hit. I had people telling me that they don't like green bean casserole, but they liked this.

This is NOT your typical canned green beans, cream of chemical soup, french fried onions casserole. Not that there's anything wrong with that...I've enjoyed it for years. But I was definitely growing tired of it. So this looked like a nice spin on it. It was a hit last year, so I made it for Easter dinner at my parents' house this weekend.

I only made one slight change when I made it this time. Ree blanches her green beans for just a few minutes and leaves them nice and crunchy. I enjoy a crunchy green bean, but not in my casserole. So I cooked my beans a bit longer. Not too long...I didn't want them mushy, but just a bit softer to the bite. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Because, why mess with perfection?

This green bean casserole is SO good. It has a very nice creaminess to it and the flavors are amazing.

Everyone who ate this yesterday enjoyed it. I think Chip felt a little afraid to tell me he liked it "just as well" as the traditional casserole. I told him he didn't have to worry about offending me...it was fine that he liked both! My Mom can't stand the traditional casserole, and she really liked this.

Ruthi ate the green beans, but didn't care as much for the rest. But she doesn't care for the traditional either. She just likes plain green beans!

Here's a picture of the casserole right out of the oven:

I could have let it brown just a bit more, but I was running a little late and needed to get it out right then. It didn't matter...it was still delicious. I just wish I had thought to take a picture after we dug into it to show the pretty color on the inside. Oh well..if you really want to see what it looks like, (and GOOD pictures at that) you can click on the link to the recipe.

So...thumbs up all around!

Coming up next

...Twice Baked Potatoes