Green Bean Casserole

Over the last year or two, Matt and I have completely phased out cream of whatever soups.  So this year, when we were presented with the task of Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving, I had to do some thinking.

I contacted my friend Lisa who went to culinary arts school.  She raised an eyebrow at me when I first asked her about green bean casserole, with a look of disgust similar to the one on Aaron's face as he is reading this.  I quickly explained that I needed to know how to do it without the nasty cream of mushroom soup.  She gave me a couple of basics, I took mental note and tried it out.  The first round wasn't that great (although better than it would be with the canned soup).  The second round turned out delightful.  Sadly, I didn't write down any exact measurements, but here's the gist:

1 container mushrooms
1/2 container of half and half
pepper
a couple baby spoonfuls of cornstarch
some water
3 cans of green beans
a couple dollops of sour cream
french fried onions

Sautee the mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil.  When they soften a bit, add the half and half and some pepper to taste.  Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water.  Make it pretty thick.  When the half and half and mushrooms are simmering pretty well, add the slurry.

In a casserole pan, empty the green beans.  Add the sour cream and about half of the onions.  Pour the mushroom sauce over it and mix well.  Top with the rest of the onions and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

You'll want to add salt to taste as well.  And these are particularly good the second day with a few spoonfuls of gravy.