Thanksgiving Side Dish in a Flash!

Good evening everyone!  As you all are well aware, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and there's lots of culinary adventures to find when cooking for family and friends.  Sometimes, you can plan out what you're going to serve this mass of people and sometimes, getting people together might involve short planning.  Tonight, I'll present a recipe that is ready under hour, flavorful, and, not to mention, incredibly healthy.

The Recipe:  Green Bean Casserole with Mushroom Sauce
Adapted from a Recipe Found In:  HyVee Seasons Holiday 2013 issue

What You'll Need:
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 Cups fresh Green Beans
1/4 Cup Bacon bits, if desired
1 Cup Italian style or plain Panko bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons melted Butter

To start, preheat an oven to 350 degrees.  While the oven is preheating, add the mushroom soup, green beans, and bacon in a glass, 2 quart baking dish.  Stir until all these ingredients are combined.  Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, add the breadcrumbs and melted butter.  Toss these ingredients together until the butter coats the bread crumbs evenly.  Next, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the green bean mixture until an even coat forms.

Once the oven reaches 350 degrees, place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is hot and bubbly and the bread crumbs are golden brown.  Let the dish stand for five minutes, serve, and enjoy!

The End Result:

Now, I am quite a fan of the traditional Green Bean Casserole and we've done our best to improve this dish, but this might top them all.  Using fresh beans, as proven before, really boosts the whole flavor of this dish.  I guess I don't like my green beans to be a squishy consistency, but if it snaps in your mouth, that is my idea of a good green bean.  Using one can of cream of mushroom soup, instead of two or three, lightly coats the beans and doesn't overwhelm with mushroom flavor.  While the baked onions certainly add to the flavor of the classic casserole, the bread crumbs add a nice crunch to end the perfect trifecta of this dish.  Tyler even quipped that he would eat this variant of Green Bean Casserole again - which is saying a lot, since he doesn't like mushrooms and overdone green beans aren't his thing either.  Overall, this dish is ready in a snap, and is the perfect dish to add to any Thanksgiving spread.

Thanks for joining us tonight.  This will be a short week for us, due to the holiday.  We hope that you get to celebrate Thanksgiving with those you love and you have a list of things your are thankful for.  We know that we are thankful for all our readers and supporters of our blog, so we thank you!  Join us next week as we continue to share great recipes from our kitchen to yours.  Until then,

~Cheers!