GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
Green Bean Casserole is typically made with cream of mushroom soup. I make this with my own sauce and do not add mushrooms. If you like mushrooms I would recommend adding them when you are sauteeing the bacon and onions. This is also great to make ahead vegetable casserole. You can prepare it in the morning and cook later. See do-ahead tip below.
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
2 ½ lbs Green Beans, trimmed
5 slices of Bacon, cut into pieces
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Onion, diced
4 tbsp Butter
4 tbsp Flour
2 c Whole Milk
1 c Heavy Cream
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
3 heaping tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp Franks Red Hot Sauce
⅓ c Roasted Red Peppers, diced
2 c Shredded Cheese (I used a mix of Cheddar Cheese and Jack Cheese)
2 ½ c French’s French fried onion rings
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Blanch the green beans in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, move them to a bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes. Once cool, drain and pat dry. Set aside.
Saute bacon for about 3-4 minutes and add onion and cook until soft for about 6-7 more minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds and mix, then take out of the pan, place into a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan you cooked the bacon and onions, add the butter and melt. Add flour and constantly stir for about 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the milk and whisk then add the heavy cream, dijon, salt, pepper and hot sauce. As you see it start to thicken, turn off the heat and add 1 ½ cups of the cheese. Taste it and see if you need to add more salt. Add back into the pan the onion/bacon mixture, roasted red peppers and green beans. Stir to combine.
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and add the green bean mixture.
DO AHEAD TIP:
At this point, you can cover and leave in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. Take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 30 minutes before putting it into the oven.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheese over the top, bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
Once bubbling, add the French fried onion rings and cook for another 5-10 mins or until crunchy on top.
