Lyndi Fultz: Healthy Green Bean Casserole {Foodie Friday}

 Healthy green bean casserole - main

  

The leaves have almost pushed off all their leaves while a few tough ones are holding on tightly. These tough guys want to make sure that fall has its day in the * ahem * sun.

Thanksgiving is knocking on the door and I love to relish in it. This national day of giving thanks is my personal favorite holiday with its traditions, its lack of commercialism, and the massive focus on foods. Seriously, is it any wonder why Thanksgiving is so beloved? 

If green bean casserole using canned soup, canned mushrooms, and canned French-fried onions are on your tradition list, may I invite you to making it a bit healthier?

This version of green bean casserole starts off with no-sodium canned green beans. If you saved fresh beans from the garden, fantastic! For the rest of us, go with one of the many options now available to us with no-sodium. Also, there is no need for a cream of mushroom soup, with all of its additional sodium levels and added ingredients that are hard to pronounce. This version uses good old-fashioned fresh mushrooms, broth, and a bit of whipping cream.  

What more do you need?

You’ll need your appetite.

 Healthy green bean casserole - up close

 

Lyndi Fultz: Healthy Green Bean Casserole {Foodie Friday}

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces of baby portobella mushrooms
  • 1 large sweet Vidalia onion
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth (I use no-sodium)
  • 4 cans of cut green beans, no salt added
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 4 shallots
  • 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

  1. Wash and thinly slice mushrooms by separating the cap from the stem. Throw the stems in your compost pile.
  2. Thinly slice onion and sauté with mushrooms on stovetop in a large skillet or saute pan with 1/3 cup olive oil and ¼ cup chicken broth on medium heat. Cover for 30 minutes and then remove lid and reduce heat to low.
  3. Preheat oven to bake 350 degrees.
  4. Drain cans of green beans and add to large mixing bowl.
  5. Add ¼ cup chicken broth to mushrooms and add whip cream. Stir.
  6. Add mushroom mixture to mixing bowl of green beans and lightly toss to incorporate. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Add green bean mixture to large Pyrex baking pan and place in oven to bake for 20 minutes.
  8. As casserole is baking, thinly slice shallots and separate into individual slices. Add to mixing bowl with flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and toss.
  9. Reheat skillet on high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add shallots. Toss until crispy and brown, approximately 5-10 minutes.
  10. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle sautéed shallots over entire surface and add back to the oven, baking for 5-10 minutes until perfectly done.
https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/lyndi-fultz-healthy-green-bean-casserole-foodie-frida/

Enjoy and give thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll.

 

Lyndi Fultz Getting to Know Your ARWB Foodies

 
 What food reminds you of childhood? 
cheese omelets
When I was a kid, my mom made runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. I decided to take matters in my own hands and learned how to 1) make dry scrambled eggs and 2) kicked it up a notch and learned how to make cheese omelets. Never again did I have runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. Thanks mom!
 
 What is your favorite international cuisine?
 
slow food from France and Italy
I like the country rustic fare from just about anywhere: fresh fish plucked from the sea, lightly but perfectly seasoned, wine with brie and fruit and long conversations, and whole chicken simmered in broth with garlic. I can appreciate fancy food yet I fall in love with simplicity that is delicious. 
 
What is always in your refrigerator at home?
 good, grass-fed butter
whole whipping cream
parmesan cheese
farm eggs
large curd cottage cheese
whole milk plain yogurt
brussel sprouts
thyme
minced garlic in a jar (what, you didn’t think I always mince my own garlic, did you?)
 
What is your go-to ingredients that you use time and time again?
 fresh thyme
 
Do you have a favorite food indulgence?
 fried chicken, yes please

What is your most used cookbook?
 
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
santoku knife
 
What is your favorite food meal to cook at home? 
 pan slow-cooked paillard chicken in broth with balsamic and dijon 
 
What is a cooking tip that you would like to share with beginning cooks?
 Sign up for Cook’s Illustrated because they will absolutely teach you how to cook
 
When you’re not cooking, what are your favorite pastimes?
 kayaking, fishing or just hanging out in the lake, remodeling, landscaping, going for drives with my husband and hanging out with family. 
 
What else would you like us to know about you?
I need a clutter-free zone to function properly.

Arkansas Women Blogger member Lyndi Fultz writes about living and eating well from her life in beautiful Northwest Arkansas at nwafoodie. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place, which she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read more related to cooking, entertaining, gadget suggestions, ingredient explorations, local finds, local restaurant treasures, kitchen tour spotlights, and always with a healthy and simplistic approach.

Connect with Lyndi:
twitter – @nwafoodie
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pinterest – nwafoodie