We’ve been eating a lot of green beans lately as the garden is keeping me in fresh supply. Then last week my mother brought me a huge bag of them from her garden. Just what I needed, more green beans! Those beans were promptly blanched and frozen for future use. I’m getting a little tired of green beans, a sure sign that their time is soon up in the garden (I have got to try succession planting next season to avoid having too much of a good thing all at once!)
Q: How to make all those green beans (and yellow beans) palatable for yet another night?
A: A cup of dairy helps the vegetable go down.
I try not to eat large amounts of dairy. With the exception of yogurt, I tend to treat dairy as a condiment—a sprinkling of parmesan here, a few crumbles of goat cheese there. But you can’t deny the comfort factor of large amounts of ooey, gooey cheese. So tonight, cheese came to the rescue, saving us from another boring serving of steamed or raw green beans.
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
3 cups cut green beans
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 cup 2% milk
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 pieces whole wheat or whole grain bread, toasted and cooled.
To make bread crumbs, crush the toast in a zip lock bag with a rolling pin. Leave about half of the bread in crouton-sized pieces. Set aside.
Boil the green beans in salted water for 10 – 15 minutes. Set the oven to 350F. Meanwhile, sauté the onion in 1 tbsp butter until tender. Add the onions to a casserole dish.
To make cheese sauce, use a small heavy saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of butter over low heat. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir until evenly combined, ensuring there are no lumps. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Over medium heat, continue to stir the sauce until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and add ¼ of the cheese. Stir until melted. Set aside.
Drain the beans when ready, add to casserole dish along with the sauce. Stir well to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top, followed by the rest of the cheese.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Makes 4 small side dish servings (with no seconds!) or 2 main dish servings.
(Stayed tuned for West Dover hike photos and Blueberry recipes–not at the same time!)
