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Today I bought Bob Evans traditional green bean casserole.
Looks goodo.y daughter-in-law usually does all the cooking for T_day, but she is having surgery on Weds and will be in the hospital.

Thsi probably is not the right place to put this, but when I make my
pumpkin pies I add 1c of apple butter, gives it a nice and different taste.

I love green bean casserole, but my guests are not fond of it so plan to do green beans with roasted garlic and pine nuts, but I may do the casserole for Christmas as I'll be home alone.

I did see an interesting variation on one of the holiday shows on the Food Network: Green beans, blanched and put in the casserole. then a good quantity of musrooms were sauteed in butter with some flour added to make a roux. Sour cream was added to that, then spread over the beans. That was topped with about a cup of shredded mozzarella and crushed corn flakes mixed with melted butter was sprinkled on top and it was baked. Wish I could give the exact recipe, but I just happened to catch it and I'm not even sure which show it was except I wasn't familiar with the 2 people doing the cooking. It really looked good and different.

It was something that I think we all grew tired of over the years and stopped making it.
Actually in the recipe, I posted above; I was out of sharp cheddar cheese, so I substituted some monterey jack and a little grated parmesan/romano, instead. And the leftovers made my lunch on Monday.
Our favorite way to serve fresh green beans; steam or microwave until just undone, but tender; drain well and refresh. Meanwhile allow several Tbsp. of butter to melt and brown in a large skillet, toss in the well drained beans and toss until coated and warmed... serve with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

My favorite green bean recipe is to steam till still crunchy, toss with butter and Dijon mustard to taste.

caraex

mtwoman,

I saw that show, too, and tracked it down. Here's the full recipe--looks as though it could be easily cut in half:

Family Fresh Green Bean Casserole
Recipe courtesy Claire Robinson 2009
Easy
6 to 8 servings

Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds fresh French green beans, ends trimmed
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion
4 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups corn cereal (recommended: Corn Flakes)
1/2 pound grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and cook for until just tender but still firm, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the beans from the water to a large bowl of ice water to preserve color and stop the cooking. Drain the beans and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and saute about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir for another minute, to cook out the raw flour taste, and then whisk in the sour cream. Simmer for just a couple of minutes to bring the flavors together and taste for seasoning.

Cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Crush the cereal flakes in a resealable plastic bag and add them to the pan with the butter. Toss to coat. Spread the green beans over the bottom of a 9-inch casserole dish. Pour all of the mushroom sauce mixture over the beans and top with the grated cheese. Sprinkle with the buttered cereal flakes and bake in the preheated 400 degree F oven, until light golden brown and bubbly, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Thank you NYbirder...I really want to try this and it will be easy to cut in half. It should work with frozen green beans until summer rolls around again and I can grow my own. The fresh green beans in the markets around here aren't worth buying.

mtwoman--I think there must be a slight mistake in that recipe. I copied and pasted it exactly as they posted it but if you finely chop 4 oz. of mushrooms, I think you're going to get more than 2 tablespoons for sure. I'm a mushroom fan and would probably add extra anyway!

I've noticed that a number of Food Network recipes have some mistakes in them--people are complaining all the time in the comments.

I'd stick with the 4 oz. and forget the 2 Tbsp. Experienced cooks would figure it out and know that something wasn't right, but a novice would be confused. Mistakes happen, I guess.