Green Bean Casserole

Today you get a three for one!  Three recipes for the price of reading one blog entry!  Whoot! Whoot! 

My poor, deprived kids, have NEVER in their memory had Green Bean Casserole.  If you are from the midwest area, you know that it is a holiday staple.  Can't have a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal without it.  BUT, all the goodies in it are full of gluten and dairy.  I have decided to try to recreate it.  Whether they will eat it or not is another story... Anyways, here is what I came up with.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup cream of mushroom soup recipe or around 10 ounces of Cream of Mushroom Soup

¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk, or milk alternative of choice

1/8 tsp pepper

About 18 ounces of green beans ~frozen or cut, washed and sliced

1 1/3 cup French Fried onions

MIX soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
BAKE at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
STIR. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.


Basic Cream Of Soup (I based this on Allergen Free Cooking's recipe, click here to visit her blog)

Ingredients                                                                                  

Choose one: Cauliflower or potatoes ~ 1 cup cooked and mashed
1 tsp garlic
½ tsp. onion powder
¼   tsp. cumin
 ¼ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1/8  tsp dry mustard
2 TBSP Earth Balance Soy Free or coconut oil
1 cup of Chicken Broth (I used homemade, make sure it is gluten free!)
1 cup of pure coconut milk (or milk alternative of choice) .
Pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan, incorporate spices.  Add your broth and veggie of choice.  Slowly add milk alternative while stirring.  Bring to a boil, stir occasionally to avoid scorching.  Remove from heat.  If needed add a bit of potato flour to thicken.

For Cream Of Chicken Soup
Replace half the milk with good chicken stock OR add 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules to the milk.
Add 1/2 cup small bits of cooked chicken

For Cream Of Mushroom Soup
In a large skillet over medium heat cook 1 cup diced mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter. Don’t crowd the skillet and cook til the mushrooms are light brown in color.

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH FRIED ONION RINGS
Ingredients:
2-3 large sweet onions (shallots would be a good choice too)
Dairy free milk to soak onions in, I used unsweetened coconut milk
¼ tsp cayenne or chili powder
2 tsp. sea salt
Pepper (I do not use pepper, but I think it would add a nice dimension)
1 ½ cups of gluten free flour mix of choice (I suggest a  lighter blend such as Hagmann’s GF blend or featherlight)
Coconut oil or oil of choice for frying

Directions:
Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Oil should be about 1 inch deep.  Slice onions into rings, and soak in dairy alternative of choice.  Mix flour and spices in a ziploc bag.  Dredge the onions in your flour mix.  Place in oil.  Do small batches.  When they float towards the surface, flip over.  Drain on paper towels when done. 


There you go... Your components to make a Green Bean Casserole.  Let me know what you think.  Or if you have a different version feel free to leave your link in the comments.  Happy cooking y'all.