It's Happening! Last Minute Christmas Food

Are you freaking out?  I am, because I'm driving to Asheville today to turn in 7 copies of a huge proposal my company is doing and then driving off to start my 4-day Christmas weekend!  Since I'm driving, I'm not cooking.

That stinks.  And kind of stresses me out.

Anyway, this is one of those never-fail make-ahead-in-5-minutes casseroles that you can take anywhere and everyone loves it.

It's a winner, and we're gonna fancy it up, just a little bit!

You'll love it.

Green Bean Casserole

You've had this before, right?  It's so easy, you hardly need any ingredients at all!

• 2 large cans (these are family size, get 5 or 6 regular cans) green beans - whatever kind you like!
• 2 cups cream of mushroom soup (use the healthy version, it tastes the same!)
• 1/2 cup dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms (the fancy part!)
• 1 cup half and half or milk
• french-fried onions

That's it!  Sometimes I toss some sauteed onions or something in this, but there's no need to unless you're just feeling nuts.  This is great on it's own!

To reconstitute the mushrooms, I put them in some stock or water, beef or chicken, WHATEVER, and let them simmer for about 20 minutes until they're soft.

Now, while the mushrooms are getting soft and wonderful, make the gravy for the casserole.  I say gravy in the LOOSEST sense of the word.

Mix the milk and all but 1/2 cup of the cream of mushroom soup together in a bowl.

That's it.

 See the mushrooms cooling and resting on the counter?  That's what they're supposed to be doing.  When the mushrooms are soft, drain them, and when they're cool enough to handle remove their stems and thinly slice them.

Note:  If you're using fresh mushrooms just take out the stems and thinly slice them, no need to pre-cook'em!

Now that you've performed this complicated "prep" work, grab a huge casserole dish and drain your green beans.

Spread the reserved cream of mushroom soup in the bottom of the casserole dish, like so.

Very good.  This is hard, try to keep up.  Now, spread half the green beans and all the mushrooms in the dish.

Then add the rest of the green beans!

We're almost done, promise!  Pour the gravy evenly over the whole delicious mess.

Fabulous!  If it's not perfectly even don't fret, this will get even and gooey and beautiful in the oven.

Now, if you're making this ahead, leave the onions off, cover this, and stick it in the fridge and to take a nap for four or so days.

When you're ready to serve this, sprinkle the french-fried onions all over the top.

Nice!  Now, stick this in the oven at 375F or 350F or whatever accommodates all the other dishes you're heating up....for about 30 minutes until the onions are dark and crispy and the sauce is bubbly.

Enjoy this!  It's easy and so delicious, and a great last-minute addition to your holiday table!