So, remember the Thanksgiving side dish thread where I said I hated green bean casserole? NO LONGER! Bacon, white gravy, and tater tots solved the problem.
Ray's Friggin' Green Bean Casserole
The only frozen veggies I had left in the freezer was a package of julienned green beans. It's now or never, I thought. I HATE green bean casserole. Time to see if I change that.
Result? My wife RAVED about this. I liked it too.
Next time, consider adding sliced mushrooms to the bacon fat, saute until soft, add chopped onion, then finish making the gravy.
Ingredients
1 large package frozen julienned green beans
4 meaty slices thick cut bacon, fried crispy, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup AP flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper, coarse ground
Tater Tots to cover
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F
Grease a casserole dish.
Start the bacon frying.
Thaw the frozen julienned beans, then spread in the casserole dish.
Evenly add the golden raisins and almonds.
Once the bacon is crispy, chop into small pieces. Evenly spread in the casserole dish.
Make the gravy. With the heat on medium, add the flour to the bacon fat. Stir to mix. Saute for a couple minutes.
Slowly add the milk, stopping to stir to incorporate until smooth (I use the back of a spatula to smash and breakup any lumps). Keep adding the milk and incorporating it smoothly until the mixture is very thin and watery.
Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to prevent sticking and burning.
Once it starts to thicken noticeably, add evenly to the casserole. DO NOT STIR.
Cover with the frozen tater tots.
Bake 40-45 minutes until the tots are crispy. Remove and rest for 5 minutes.
Serve.
Pre-bake, pre-gravy, pre-tots.
Post-bake, and all the other stuff.
Ray's Friggin' Green Bean Casserole
The only frozen veggies I had left in the freezer was a package of julienned green beans. It's now or never, I thought. I HATE green bean casserole. Time to see if I change that.
Result? My wife RAVED about this. I liked it too.
Next time, consider adding sliced mushrooms to the bacon fat, saute until soft, add chopped onion, then finish making the gravy.
Ingredients
1 large package frozen julienned green beans
4 meaty slices thick cut bacon, fried crispy, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup AP flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper, coarse ground
Tater Tots to cover
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F
Grease a casserole dish.
Start the bacon frying.
Thaw the frozen julienned beans, then spread in the casserole dish.
Evenly add the golden raisins and almonds.
Once the bacon is crispy, chop into small pieces. Evenly spread in the casserole dish.
Make the gravy. With the heat on medium, add the flour to the bacon fat. Stir to mix. Saute for a couple minutes.
Slowly add the milk, stopping to stir to incorporate until smooth (I use the back of a spatula to smash and breakup any lumps). Keep adding the milk and incorporating it smoothly until the mixture is very thin and watery.
Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to prevent sticking and burning.
Once it starts to thicken noticeably, add evenly to the casserole. DO NOT STIR.
Cover with the frozen tater tots.
Bake 40-45 minutes until the tots are crispy. Remove and rest for 5 minutes.
Serve.
Pre-bake, pre-gravy, pre-tots.
Post-bake, and all the other stuff.