I really have no idea why this is so popular. Whenver we have a pot luck at work everyone raves about the green bean casserole and every time I’ve tried it it was disgusting. Tasting mostly like processed food and preservatives. I mean, really, what is the big deal with this stuff and why do so many people think it’s so great?
I brought my favorite “Hearts Salad” to the pot luck:
1 can of Artichoke Hearts quartered
1 can of salad cut Heart of Palm
1 cucumber peeled and seeded and cut into bite-sized chunks
1 pt. Grape tomatoes halved
1/4 c. fresh basil minced
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 c. Olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
It is a nice alternative to the usual tossed salad. Very easy to add things to to spice it up. Fresh tarragon is a nice addition, so is red onion if you like onions.
I’m going to toss in some sauteed shrimp and chunks of fresh mozarella tonight and call it dinner.
Aw, I like green bean casserole. My husband likes green bean casserole. He asks for it on a regular basis. If I offered artichoke hearts to my husband instead of green bean casserole, I suspect that he would begin divorce proceedings immediately. Since I kinda like having him around, I think I’ll stick with the green bean casserole.
Processed food and preservatives are comfort food for some of us who grew up in an era when using them in your cooking was a sign that you were a modern cook.
Mmmmm, green bean casserole. I love the stuff – we never make enough in my family; it’s usually one of the first things that runs out on the Thanksgiving table.
What’s not to like? The green beans, the creamy mushroom soup, the crispy onions on top…mmmm. If it tastes like preservatives, just use fresher ingredients, that’s all.
I don’t understand green bean casserole. I’ll eat green beans - I love them, in fact. But whose idea was it to toss them into a casserole with mushroom soup and crispy stuff on top? Ick.
I also will never understand the use of marshmallows on sweet potatoes. They’re already sweet, people, it’s right there in their name!
Exactly. I use frozen green beans rather than canned, and cut back on the saucy part (the soup and milk). I usually double the receipe, but I don’t double the soup and milk. Still works, and tastes yummy.
I love green bean casserole! Thanksgiving and Christmas are the 2 times a year my whole family will sit down and eat what we solemnly refer to as “White People Food” so we go all out on the green bean casserole & sweet potatoes with marshmallows and everything. Of course, we do have other ethnic additions to the fare, including the fact that at least one leg on the turkey gets marinated with boti spice just so my dad will shut up and eat it.
We only have it at Thanksgiving, but I like it. I mean, most of the time I cook all “cool” and grow my own organic stuff and all, and last Thanksgiving we had roasted fresh green beans with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese (a huge hit, by the way) but this time we’re going back to the casserole. I mean, we could have the roasted ones any time. The casserole, just Thanksgiving.
I learned here, I think, however, that for those of us who think cream of mushroom soup is devil-spawn (or possibly devil jizz, come to think of it) you can make it with cream of celery and nobody who doesn’t hate the mushroom stuff will even notice. It’s totally true.
But the black ladies I work with asked me about it last year, as if it were some sort of odd fabled thing, like people from other cultures who eat goat eyeballs or something. “What is that green bean casserole thing all the white people talk about?”
Well, the green beans are, I don’t know if the onion fried thingies are but I’d imagine it’s soybean oil, and the cream of mushroom soup is if MSG is vegitarian.
And funerals is chicken divan, you traitor to your race. Things with broccoli in would also be acceptable, as long as they also include cheese. Cheese is the funeral food.
I love green bean casserole. It’s pure comfort food, and easy to make. I wish I had some right now. I guess it does taste processed, but in that homey way. I usually prefer fresh green beans, but not in the casserole. It’s got to be canned. Fresh mushrooms are acceptable.
We never had GBC until about twenty years ago though. I’m not sure which relative originally brought it to a family gathering, but it’s been at every one since that first time.
I like to add oven-roasted slivered almonds and crumbled bacon to mine. Something I picked up from my mother, who never bothered with the fried onion straws.
I like green bea casserole and it’s a tradition. It’s also a tradition to complain about it but we still eat it. One year my mom didn’t make it and we complained and she said “but you guys always complain about it” and my sister and I said in unison “yes, because that’s part of the tradition!”.
I did see Tyler Florence make a green bean casserole with fresh green beans, fresh mushrooms and a cream sauce topped with homemade croutons that looked killer.
And I agree with Anitgen about sweet potatoes. They don’t need mushrooms and syrup, they’re already sweet!