Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

We were asked to make the infamous green bean casserole for Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Instead of using canned soup and packaged fried onions, we found this recipe that is almost as easy to make, tastes better, with much less sodium and preservatives!

This is derived from a recipe from chef Alton Brown on the food network web site:

1 pound fresh green beans, washed and chopped into ~1" pieces
12 ounces of mushrooms, sliced or chopped
2 onions, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 cup stock
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
black pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 450º.

Combine the onions, 1/4 cup flour, bread crumbs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and toss to combine.  Spread evenly on a greased baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Toss every 10 minutes during cooking.

Blanch the beans for about 7 minutes in salted boiling water, then drain and rinse with cold water.

In a skillet, melt the butter, add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and grated black pepper, cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms give up some of their liquid.  Add the garlic and nutmeg and cook for another couple of minutes.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour over the mixture, stir to combine.  Add the stock, and simmer for a couple of minutes.   Add the half and half, cook on medium-low heat until the mixture thickens, about 6-8 minutes.

Combine the beans and 1/4 of the onions with the mushroom mixture, put into a casserole dish (or leave in the skillet if it is oven proof).  Top with the remaining onions and bake at 375º until bubbly, about 30 minutes.  Serve immediately.