Bless you, Sally! I don't make green bean casserole and have honestly never eaten it, that I can recall, but it comes up every year here on the forum and I'm sure you will get great recipes for a healthier, tastier version of the "classic."

For an anoune roughly equalling a can of soup...
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 T finely chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
Sautee all in 1/4 cup butter
When the veggies are soft add
3 T flour, stir and cook about 30 seconds and add
1 cup milk...or half and half if you want it really creamy
Whisk and stir until mixture comes to a boil and the sauce is very thick.....salt and pepper to taste.

Not only can you use this in GB casserole but as a binder for things like chicken patties or for a spinach filling for a flat souffle.
Linda C

Let me dig up a recipe I got from CI. It's soooo not good for you (as in a lot of cream) but it is AMAZING.....when I make it, people who don't like mushrooms eat it.

I'm only putting in the "soup" part of the recipe. I got this quite a few years ago from CI/ATK website and can't find it anywhere. There is a different version in the cookbooks but it's nothing like this. I'm warning you now; if you taste it, you may not make the casserole. I sometimes make the soup for us because it's soooo good!

Soup part for Green Bean Casserole:

one-half ounce dried porcini mushrooms
6 tablespoons unsaled butter
1 mediun onion, minced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
12 ounces whie button mushrooms, sliced one quarter inch thick
12 ounces cremini mushrooms, slices one quarter inch thick
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
one teaspoon salt
one quarter teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all purpose flout
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream

Rehydrate porcinis in one half cup hot water (microwave on high for 30 seconds, cover and let steep 5 minutes or so). Strain the liquid (reserve) and mince. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic, fresh mushrooms and cook until mushrooms release their moisture. Add porcinis, soaking liquid, thyme 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and cook until all mushrooms are tender and liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons. Add flour; cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth until smooth and reduce heat to medium. Stir in cream and simmer gently until sauce has consistency of dense soup, about 15 minutes.

dees, that sounds really good, I'm saving that.

Good luck on the casserole, Sally. My girls love the stuff, complete with canned soup. Just the appearance puts me off, LOL, and I never used canned soup because of the salt content.

Maybe I'll try a "homemade" version for Thanksgiving. I'll probably have a mutiny on my hands...

Annie

Sally, your Green Bean Casserole will be so much better with homemade mushroom soup.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Mushroom - Cream Of Mushroom Soup
=================================
2 to 3 cups Sliced mushrooms
1 large shallot minced
1 garlic clove minced
3 to 4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour.
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 - 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (optional)
3 to 4 tablespoons flour
2 to 4 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 cups milk or use cream for a richer soup (depending on how thick you like your soup)
. Saute sliced mushrooms in butter, add shallot, cook for a few minutes
being careful not to brown the shallots. Add the minced garlic and
saute for one minute. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour and saute
for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth and fresh thyme, bring
to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cream or milk and
simmer for a few more minutes.

Optional - Coarsely puree soup with a stick blender.

Those recipes sound so good. I'm going to save them all. Ann, your's looks simple and delicious. Dees, your's looks wonderful, but I'm going to save that one for when I want just the soup, cause I'm not forking out the bucks for dried porcini mushrooms to make green bean casserole.

Annie, this really is an attempt to get my grandson to eat something other than peanut butter and honey sandwiches. He does occasionally eat greenbeans, and he actually does like mushrooms, so I thought I'd try this. It's been years since I made it, though, and I've never made it from scratch. This should be fun.

Sally

Sally, you can omit the porcinis for the casserole and nobody will know. I've made it with just white button mushrooms and it turned out fine. It's the cream absorbing all the mushroomy goodness that makes the soup so wonderful.

Ann_t, I like the addition of tarragon and may have to try that when I make just the soup.

But, but, Sally, it mmay be more delicious, but it won't be the same! Oh, heck, it won't even be truly retro without the can!

As for getting your gson to eat something besides pb&h, forget it. When my son was a boy, he ate nothing but that and Oreos....for at least five years. Now, he is a strong, lean, healthy father, a great cook who prepares gourmet meals almost every day....and lets his own son eat pb&j and not much else. Eventually, even the fussiest kids usually come around.

But have fun! It will "probably! be good.

Sally, go for it. It will still be retro. Even back when there were people making Green Bean Casserole with a made from scratch mushroom soup/sauce.

I'm sure your grandson will love your homemade version.

Ann

Homemade is sooooo much better that the canned.
Go for it.

Linda

Good luck on that, Sally. Some kids eat everything and others just don't.

Bud is an eating machine, if it doesn't eat him first he'll try it. The Princess started out eating everything from gefilte fish to olives, now she's pickier. And Ashley got on food "kicks", where she'd eat the same thing for months. She had a grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup for breakfast for about a year, every day, then she switched to those banana/chocolate/peanut butter "power shakes".

She still eats like that, the same thing daily for months, then she doesn't want it for a long time.

but heck, who am I to say? I have a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and a cup of coffee for breakfast every weekday morning. I've done it for several years now...

I still won't eat canned soup, though, and since I spilled that entire roasting pan full of green bean casesrole onto the floor of my van and smelled the stuff for months, I just can't go there, LOL. I did like cornflake chicken though, I haven't made that for a long time either.

Annie

In my humble opinion if you want to bother with making a classic you should follow the original recipe. Here it is and take note of the soy sauce. I've eaten many forms of this casserole and it doesn't taste the same if you omit the soy sauce!

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request)

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Dash ground black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
Bake at 350F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

RECIPE TIPS

Easy Substitution: Use 1 bag (16 to 20 ounces) frozen green beans, thawed, 2 packages (9 ounces each) frozen green beans, thawed, 2 cans (about 16 ounces each) green beans, drained or about 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans cooked for this recipe.

Sally, I think it is always a good idea to improve on recipes until you make it your own.

The original green bean casserole has never appealed to me. But the idea of green beans (fresh green beans) with a mushroom sauce does. So I would definitely update this recipe. There is a lot of room for improvement.

For some ideas check out some of the recipes shared here on Tastespotting.

Ann

Thanks for the good sounding cream of mushroom soups and substitutes.

Ann, ironically, from Tastespotting, picture 61614 from Cookingontheside, had the original recipe, 100%. Hm.

Soy sauce? Hm.

Y'all are making me go Hm. today. But it's better than the rest of my Monday has been. It's been a Monday!!!!!!!

I have made this several times and it is delicious.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Bean Casserole From Scratch

I'm doing it from scratch just for fun. Magic, thanks for the casserole recipe. For some reason, I think I remember water chesnuts in the recipe from way back when. I don't know if that's something I just added for crunch, or if it was in the recipe I used. The recipe I used was in a kid's cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens, but alas, I've lost the cookbook. DS and I made quite a few recipes from that old book.

Well, I better get started!

Sally

I saw that Rob. But the original was out numbered by some better looking casserole options.

Ann

Funny - my "original" recipe for the Green Bean & COM soup calls for Worcestershire instead of Soy Sauce LOL! I wonder which original is original! LOLOLOL!

As an alternative, I had this at a friends house last year and it was really REALLY good... maybe it might work for you?

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007

.Prep Time:25 minInactive Prep Time:-- Cook Time:45 minLevel:
EasyServes:
4 to 6 servings.Ingredients
For the topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray
For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
Directions
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

The meal was a success - mostly. I made Ann T's version of mushroom soup, and it's delicious. I made a very simple version of the casserole, cause I timed things poorly and didn't get the casserole into the oven until the chicken came out of the oven. Oh, well, that gave the chicken time to rest. Everyone liked everything except the grandson, of course, who only ate the chicken, and had to be cajoled into eating one greenbean. He did say it was good, but he didn't eat any more. lol.

The only problem I had was that in spite of the thermapen reading the chicken temperature at 195 degrees when I took it out, some of the chicken was not just pink, but actually quite red in the middle. I cooked leg quarters, cut up into thighs and drumsticks. I measured the temperature of the thighs, thinking they had thicker meat so they would be the best to measure. It was some of the drumsticks that were red in the middle. I guess they didn't cook evenly, obviously. Other than that, the family was very pleased.

Oh, and by the way, corn flake portabella mushrooms don't work. Don't try that at home! Can we say leather? Guess what I had as a sub for chicken! lol.

Sally

Caliloo - it's funny you mention the worcestershire sauce because I think I have seen that too in place of the soy. It's funny how a teaspoon of something like either soy or worchestershire sauce can make such a big difference in the taste. It adds some kind of complexity to it I can't describe. The "Original" recipe I posted was from the Campbell's Soup company but who knows where the recipe really came from. I just know my kids always liked it when they were young. Now they wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole being much more sophisticated than to cook with creamed soup!!

Sally I'm glad your meal was a success!!!

Joann