Green Bean Casserole Recipe: Traditional or Oriental-Style

A long time ago -- about the time French fried onions were invented -- someone decided to try to make green beans taste better by mixing them with a bunch of ingredients in order to hide the natural flavor of the beans. Eventually, that cook stumbled upon the right combination of additives to camouflage the green beans and trick people into eating them -- a green bean casserole.

Somewhere along the way, this green bean casserole became a "traditional" side dish. I'm not sure how it happened. Maybe parents figured they could at least get their children to eat green beans once a year if they presented them as a holiday treat. Now, for perhaps the same inexplicable reason fruitcakes get served at Christmas, green bean casseroles are traditionally served at Easter. 

If you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm not a green bean fan. Served alone, I find them vile. However, like everyone else, I can choke them down if they are served up in a casserole. I will eat the traditional green bean casserole if there are no other options, but I prefer the Oriental method of disguising the green beans. I present both options to facilitate your efforts to convince others to consume these horrible legumes.

Oriental-Style Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans 14.5 ounce cans green beans, drained

1 8-ouce can sliced water chesnuts, drained

1/4 cup milk

1 10.75 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 5-ounce can of chow mein noodles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first six ingredients and half of the chow mein noodles in large bowl. Pour into a 1.5-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes. Top casserole with remaining noodles, cook an additional five minutes. Serve hot. 

Traditional Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans 14.5 ounce cans green beans, drained

3/4 cup milk

1 10.75 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 can of French fried onions

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients and half of the French fried onions in large bowl. Pour into a 1.5-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes. Top casserole with remaining fried onions, cook an additional five minutes. Serve hot.