Thanksgiving Green-Bean Casserole

Homemade take on this classic Mid-west dish. It puts the old fashioned standard to shame! Worth the effort!

Ingredients:

-4 Slices of Bacon
-3 Packages of Mushrooms, Diced (I used crimini)
-3-4 TB Butter
-1 Yellow Onion, Diced
-Large Bag of Green-beans
-Olive Oil
-1 tsp Better than Bullion
-1 C Heavy Cream
-Salt
-Crispy Fried Onions

Directions:

-Heat oven to 350.
-Cook the slices of bacon on a baking sheet until crispy. Set aside.
-Turn up oven to 400.
-Spread diced mushrooms on baking sheet. Toss lightly to coat with the bacon grease. Sprinkle evenly with salt and return to oven.
-In a large saucepan, melt butter. Dice bacon and add to pan with diced onion and some salt. Stir occasionally.
-Roast mushrooms until well browned. Remove 3/4 of the mushrooms from the baking sheet and add to the saucepan with the onions.
-Add green-beans to baking sheet. Add a little oil and stir to coat. Bake until vegetables are well roasted and tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
-Turn oven down to 350.
-Add Better than Bullion to saucepan and extra butter/salt as needed. Continue to stir occasionally. When onions and mushrooms are caramelized, add cream. Simmer until well combined.
-In a food processor, blend onion/mushroom mixture until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed.
-Combine mushroom puree with roasted green-beens. Pour into a large round casserole dish and cover with a lid.*
-Bake for 20-30 minutes until mixture is bubbling.
-Remove lid and sprinkle crispy onions on top. Bake for 5-10 minutes without the lid.

*You can make this recipe the night before. Put in the fridge at this point and bake the next day!

Asparagus Salad

This worked out great as a low maintenance grill dish! I need more grilling in my life!

Asparagus

Cherry Tomatoes, Halved

Red Onion, Diced

Garlic, Pressed or Minced

Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

-Trim the ends off the asparagus and spread on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn to coat. 

-Grill or bake the asparagus until cooked through and soft. When finished, cut stalks into thirds. 

-On very high heat, flash fry the tomatoes and onions, adding just enough oil to keep ingredients from sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

-When tomatoes have softened and onions are slightly translucent, turn heat down to medium and add a small amount of balsamic vinegar and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. 

-In a bowl, toss together asparagus, tomato/onion mixture, and shaved parm.

-Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve as a cold salad. *optional addition of pine nuts would be delicious!

Smoked Salmon Dip

I was craving smoked salmon dip, and had some fresh salmon filets in my fridge. After searching through several recipes, I found a pretty good way to fake smoked salmon without owning a smoker. The dip tasted great and pretty close to the real thing!

 
Ingredients:

-2 Small Salmon Filets

-1/8-1/4 C Hickory Liquid Smoke 

-1/2 Lemon, Juiced

-1/4 C Yellow Onion, Finely Diced

-1 TB Brown Sugar

-1 Garlic Clove, Pressed

-Salt & Pepper

-8 oz Cream Cheese, Softened

-Chives, Finely Diced

Directions:

-In a square baking dish, combine liquid smoke, lemon juice, onion, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper. Stir until sugar has disolved and all ingredients are evenly distributed. 

-Place salmon filets in the mixture with skin facing up. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (the longer you can marinate the salmon, the more it will absorb the flavor). 

-Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place salmon on baking sheet skin side down. 

-Broil salmon on low for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through and soft. 

-Remove skin from filets and transfer salmon into a bowl. Use a fork to flake salmon. 

-When the salmon is cool, add cream cheese and chives. Stir until well combined. Add salt to taste and if not smoky tasting enough, add a small amount of liquid smoke.