I did a cooking demo yesterday and mentioned this dish. During last year’s Healthy Holiday Cooking demonstrations, this was one of the dishes I made. Since I didn’t really want any repeats on materials, it didn’t go into the demo this year. But, folks were asking for it. Here it is! No canned soup in this dish. All from scratch. It’s not tough to make at all and it’s a thousand times better (taste and calories) than the old recipe on the can of fried onions. Enjoy!!
- 1 and 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
- 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix (Penzey’s makes a great one!)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 – 8 ounce package sliced fresh mushrooms
- 3/4 cup French/crispy onions, crushed
- 1/2 cup whole wheat panko or whole wheat bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil fresh green beans in salted water covered for about 5 minutes. Drain and blanch on ice to stop cooking process then pat dry. Set aside.
Coat a medium non-stick skillet with spray/mist with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms. Sauté for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned, and remove from heat. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly for about 3 to 4 minutes until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and whisk in buttermilk, ranch dressing, thyme and salt and pepper. Add the blanched green beans and the cooled mushrooms to the sauce.
Place mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with spray/misted with oil. Sprinkle with crumbled French/crispy onions and panko over green beans and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
Per serving: 149 calories, 6 grams protein, 7 grams fat, 18 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 352 mg sodium.