I was asked by my sister-in-law to make a green bean casserole for tomorrow’s Easter dinner. I made it tonight and will cook it tomorrow.
I did not have a can of cream of mushroom soup on hand and didn’t feel like going to the store for it, so I substituted a can of cheddar cheese soup instead. I heated a small bowlful in the microwave so I could see if it was edible.
I think I like it better this way. I hope the family likes it, too. If not, there will be other good things to eat.
I tried a version from allrecipes.com, and we like it better than the original. Use a couple of cans of green beans, add in 8 oz. cubed Velveeta, 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning, 1 can cream of chicken soup, and the usual french fried onions. S & P to taste. So much flavorful than the regular! I would never have thought to use cheese in it–I’m sure your cheese soup version was good, too.
Another alternative is to use fresh ingredients, and it’s really not that hard. I would argue the results are better.
Alton Brown has a good recipe at foodtv.net called “Good Green Bean Casserole.” I’ll be making it tomorrow as a matter of fact. Essentially, it uses fresh, blanched green beans combined with a simple cream of mushroom soup/gravy, and croutons.
And I’m really, really not a food snob. If you like the traditional method, go ahead. I have fond memories from past Easters, also. Besides, I cheat. I use store-bought croutons instead of making my own. Oops, I see he’s now using fried onions instead of croutons. Oh bother. Here’s therecipe.
But, if you don’t mind cleaning the beans and slicing the mushrooms, it’s really not difficult and you have a lot more control over the ingredients.
I made real green bean casserole (Alton Brown’s) for Thanksgiving. Everybody hated it. Now,the sauce is good, and maybe if I’d done the sauce with canned beans they’d have liked it, but as it was it’s the only dish nobody ate.
However, I HATE cream of mushroom soup - I always use cream of celery. And now, although we don’t do Easter, I’m going to see if I have the stuff in the cupboard to make some.
I made a gluten-free version one Thanksgiving that used all fresh ingredients, and it was great. Even the fried onions (using rice flour) were great…in fact, so great that I ate half of them before assembling the casserole.
