Scene - Blogs - Guiltfree green bean casserole fact or fiction

Guilt-free green bean casserole: fact or fiction?
Published: 11/11/2011 7:30 AM
Last Modified: 11/10/2011 5:44 PM

Campbell's traditional green bean casserole, which looks prettier than mine ever did. But I bet mine's tastier. Deadly, perhaps, but tasty.

If I could travel back in time, I'd slap myself for not eating green bean casserole.

Some people -- perhaps those who subscribe to both Saveur and Bon Appetit magazines, and claim they've NEVER sipped wine out of a plastic Solo cup (LIES!) -- arch an eyebrow at green bean casserole, which, for many families, is kinda-sorta to Thanksgiving what watermelon is to the Fourth of July. And we ALL know that the only Americans who refuse to eat watermelon on the Fourth are probably Nazis.

Anyway, I had this thing growing up about not eating casseroles, like it was something that only adults ate. Like quiche, coffee and dark chocolate – all things, Lord help me, I love now. At the same time, even. Don’t knock it 'til you've tried it.

My prowess in the kitchen may not be rave-worthy, but I've had multiple people (two, specifically) tell me my green bean casserole is the bomb-diggity dawg, or whatever kids say these days. I include the usual casserole suspects: green beans, of course, plus the ubiquitous cream of mushroom soup, which is like the duct tape of food.

But instead of adding water to thin out the soup a smidge, I add a little whole milk, plus sour cream, cheese, butter (not sure why, but if it's good enough for Paula Deen ...) mushrooms and fried onions IN the casserole, then top it off the last five minutes of baking with even more cheese and more fried onions. I've even thought about putting in cream cheese. Not sure why. Probably because I heard Olive Garden does that for their alfredo sauce, which I could drink from a sippy cup on a daily basis, if calories and clogged arteries weren't an issue.

Whatever, I rank my green bean casserole second on my list of all-time best dishes I make, right between my chocolate-oatmeal-toffee cookies and my bacon-arugula pasta in garlic cream sauce.

But as I shudder to think of the calories in even one serving of my green bean casserole, I should probably find a more Weight Watchers-friendly version -- if such a unicorn exists. I bemoaned the fact in my Tuesday column, after which a sweet reader named Sam shared a recipe for one she loved.

"I've searched high and low for a decent green bean casserole," Sam wrote me. "I made this one last year, and it was a hit. I did add mushrooms, garlic and more pepper OK, a bit of cayenne because I like it a little spicier." I love this woman.

"Even my hubby loved it and he could eat an entire casserole of the old-fashioned green bean casserole," she said.

Obviously, I'll be cutting WAAAAAY back on the cheese when I make my casserole for Thanksgiving this year. But what about the fried onions?

Another reader wrote to suggest almond slivers as a substitute, which I bet would be nice and crunchy. Then I started fantasizing about almond slivers AND fried onions, so perhaps I'll just stick with the latter -- the normal, Reasor's-sized can, not the Sam's Club institutional-sized one (if such a thing exists -- sorry, another fantasy).

Here's the recipe Sam shared from the November 1995 edition of Cooking Light magazine.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-sodium, reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (9-ounce) packages frozen French-style green beans, thawed and drained
1 1/2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 teaspoons margarine, melted
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk, stirring until blended. Stir in cheese, sour cream, sugar, and salt; cook 5 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.
2. Place green beans in an 8-inch square baking dish; pour the sauce over beans. Combine stuffing mix, margarine, and egg white in a bowl; stir well, and sprinkle over green bean mixture. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Nutrition info: 139 calories, 4.7 grams fat (2.1 saturated), 18.7 grams carbs and 2.1 grams fiber.

Now, I didn't see how many servings this made, so that's up to your discretion. Let's pretend it's two: one for lunch, another for dinner.

Peace, love and institutional-sized things ... XOXO

Today's (sorta-kinda) non sequitur: Did you see the article on People.com about " "The Dead Celebrity Cookbook""? Check it out for the yummy-sounding recipe for Bea Arthur's Vegetarian Breakfast.

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ozarkokie (last year)

Green bean casseroles may not be chic, but they're good, and a tradition in many families. That's why they persist and appear on many tables long after today's chic food becomes tomorrow's forgotten food.

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Living Wright

While other kids were watching "The Smurfs," Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright was tuned in to "Style with Elsa Klensch." By fourth grade, he knew he wanted to write, and spent almost three years publishing a weekly teen-oriented magazine, Teen-Zine -- circulation: 2. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, he became the medical reporter and teen board coordinator for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, a Gannett newspaper. Eight months later, with visions of Elsa dancing in his head, he applied for the fashion writer position at the Tulsa World, where he began working on Aug. 3, 1998. He is now a general assignment reporter for Scene.

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