Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with green bean casserole made with condensed soup and French fried onions. In fact I like it a lot. But I wanted to give something new a try and when I saw this on The Pioneer Woman’s site I was game to give it a try.

On a side note if you do not read The Pioneer Woman’s blog you are missing out on something and need to get over and check it out right away. I always get a laugh and she shares lots of cute things. Not to mention every recipe that I have ever tried of hers is always good and easy to cook. So I knew this would be a winner!

This recipe was defiantly a winner but I am warning you it really has its own flavor and really doesn’t resemble the condensed soup recipe. My family and I loved it but we did make one minor change, we added a whole pound of bacon instead of the 3 slices it calls for. Lets be honest, I have never had a recipe that called for a few slices where I didn’t add the whole pound. It has never been a mistake but if you are watching what you eat you might not want to go that route.

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

~ 2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed

~ 4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (or the whole pound)

~ 3 cloves garlic, minced

~ 1/2 large onion, chopped

~ 4 Tbsp. butter

~ 4 Tbsp. flour

~ 2 1/2 cups whole milk

~ 1/2 cup half and half

~ 1 1/2 tsp. salt, more to taste

~ freshly ground black pepper, to taste

~ 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

~ 1 cup grated sharp cheddar

~ 1 jar (4 oz.) sliced pimentos, drained

~ 1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1. Cut green beans in half if you like smaller pieces. Blanch green beans by dropping them into lightly salted boiling water. Allow the green beans to cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain beans once they’re cool and set aside.

2. Add bacon pieces to a skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon for two minutes, then add diced onion and garlic and continue cooking until bacon is done. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a separate skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle flour into the pan and whisk immediately to evenly mix it into the butter. Cook for a minute or two, then pour in milk and half and half. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, while sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne then add the grated cheddar. Stir while cheese melts. Turn off heat.

4. Add pimentos to pan, then add bacon/onion mixture. Stir to combine. Pour over green beans and stir gently to combine. Pour into a baking dish and top with panko crumbs.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and panko crumbs are golden.

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Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Mushrooms, and Cherry Tomatoes

One of my absolute favorite recipes is Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic. I don’t know what it is about the combination of Balsamic Vinegar and garlic roasted together in the oven but I look forward to getting green beans in my basket just so that I can make this recipe.

Last week not only did we get green beans but we also got some great looking Cherry tomatoes. So I changed up this recipe a bit by adding in a 8 oz. container of baby Bella mushrooms and my Cherry tomatoes cut in half. It was a great side dish to our dinner!

Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Mushrooms, and Cherry Tomatoes

~ 1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

~ 1 large onion, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

~ 4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

~ 1 Tbsp. olive oil

~ salt & pepper to taste

~ 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

~ 1 8 oz. container of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

~ 1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Place green beans in the pan. Scatter garlic, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes over the top of the green beans. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes; opening the oven every 10 minutes to stir. Transfer to serving dish and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

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Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Mushrooms,

and Cherry Tomatoes

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

I am sure that I am not the only one out there that believes anything wrapped in or that contains bacon is going to be a great dish. If the recipe contains bacon I usually use more than it asks for and in general the recipe is fabulous. These bacon wrapped green beans were no exception! What made them extra tasty was the brown sugar glaze that you make and baste over them before baking in the oven. It was an instant winner and will be made often in my house.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

~ 1 lb. fresh green beans

~ 10-12 slices of thick-cut bacon

~ 2 Tbsp. butter

~ 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

~ 2 cloves garlic, minced

~ 1/4 tsp. salt

~ 1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400^o F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

2. Wash and thoroughly dry green beans, then season with salt and pepper. Bundle together about 5-8 green beans. Bundle together as many as you’d like! Using a slice of bacon, wrap it around the center of the beans to hold it together. Lay the bundle bacon seam side down in the baking dish to hold it together. Repeat with remaining beans.

3. Heat a small saucepan over low heat. Add butter, brown sugar and garlic and whisk until melted and combined. Using a brush, brush the mixture over the top of each green bean bundle. Cover the bundles with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more, just until bacon gets crispy.

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Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Oven Roasted Green Beans with Garlic

I love fresh green beans and when ever I get some this is one of the first recipes that I make.  I love the garlic and balsamic vinegar combination.  Plus it is super easy to mix together for a really great side dish.

All you do is place all the ingredients into a baking dish and drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Then pop into the oven. Once it is done cooking drizzle with balsamic vinegar and your done.

Oven Roasted Green Beans with garlic

~ 1 lb. fresh green beans

~ 1 large onion

~ 4 cloves fresh garlic

~ 1 Tbsp. olive oil

~ salt & pepper to taste

~ 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

 

Preheat oven to 400^o F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan, rinse and trim green beans. Place in the pan. Peel the onion and cut into slices about 1/4 inch wide, scatter over the beans. Cut the garlic and scatter them over the onions. Drizzle oil over veggies. Add salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes; opening the oven every 10 minutes to stir. Transfer to other dish and drizzle vinegar over the beans.

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Oven Roasted Green Beans with garlic