Fresh Green Bean Casserole

IT'S THE HOLIDAYS GUYS.  

Seriously.  The most wonderful time of the year and all that jazz.  Speaking of jazz, thank you for agreeing with me that this Saturday is the perfect day to have all my Christmas decorations up!  Your affirmations allowed me to start listening to Christmas music YESTERDAY, which was the perfect day because Jay is gone on business and hates Christmas music because he is scrooge.  I'm trying to help him outgrow it.  Ornaments and sparkles forever!  

Even though my internship at the obesity clinic where I used to do therapy is over, I still teach their cooking classes once a month, and tomorrow it's all about Thanksgiving sides!  Since I KNOW they're not the only population that cares about not gaining ten pounds between now and NYE, I thought you might want to know how I lightened AND freshened up the standard green bean casserole that we all know and love.  

Spoiler alert:  fried onions aren't really a thing when you're trying to be light and healthy.  

Just like most casseroles, this one sort of gets better as it sits, and you can 100% make the entire thing up until the final bake a few days before Thanksgiving.  If you make one side dish per day starting on Sunday then the whole meal becomes much more manageable!  

Ingredients:  green beans!  Or haricots vert!  I like the little guys because they're pretty, and I get mine at Trader Joe's, but any green bean that you like is just fine.  You also need sliced mushrooms and, again, any kind you like goes!  When I make this for our actual meal next week I'm going with shiitake.  Love those guys.  You also need butter, garlic, soy sauce, chicken stock, flour, sour cream, and 2 shallots.  Then salt and pepper, duh.  If you're going to make this dish and bake it right away, preheat the oven to 450F.  

First, we'll make our shallot topping.  You can do this in a separate pan, but I just used one pan to save on dishes.  Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a skillet to heat up over medium-high heat.  

Then, peel and thinly slice the shallots.  

When the butter foams and the pan is hot, add the shallots to the skillet in one layer.  They should sizzle!  Let the shallots cook and crisp for about 3 minutes, then toss them once and let them go for another few minutes.  We want some dark bits on the shallots and for them to be mostly crispy.  

When the shallots are done, remove them to a little dish to hang out while you prep the filling of the casserole.  

Add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet with the mushrooms.  Let them cook for about 7 minutes, stirring the whole time, until they are browned and wilted.  

While the mushrooms are working, cut the green beans into bite-sized pieces.  

Then, add them to the pan!  

Stir the mushrooms and green beans together and let them cook for a few minutes - how long will depend on how large your green beans are AND how large your skillet is.  Since my skillet was super full I ended up needing to saute the green beans with the mushrooms for about 15 minutes, but yours might not take that long.  While the green beans are working, mince the garlic.  

When the green beans are just slightly soft (remember they'll cook more in the oven), make a well in the center of the skillet and add another pat of butter and the minced garlic.  

Then sprinkle the flour over the skillet!  

Stir everything together to incorporate the flour with the butter and garlic, for about 2 minutes.  Then, pour the stock slowly over the whole skillet, stirring as you go, to create a thin gravy. 

Last, add in the soy sauce and sour cream.

Stir everything together, and taste!  Add salt and pepper if you'd like, or another splash of stock if yours gets really thick.  

Pour the mixture into a baking dish...

...and top it with the shallots.  

Now, just bake the dish for 20-30 minutes until the beans are soft and the top is slightly dark.  

Fresh!  I'm a big fan of regular old green bean casserole with the canned soup and fried onions, but this is a really nice alternative, especially if you're part of a gang that does a lot of cream of whatever soup based dishes.  Vegetables!  Healthy!  

I can't WAIT for next week.  The countdown is totally on.