Skillet Green Bean Casserole

Millions of families will be eating that traditional green bean casserole this week. I always liked it--somewhat. I love french fried onions, but am not a huge fan of mushroom soup. Low carbers have other options, but making our own mushroom soup to use as a base can be a bit time consuming.

This weekend I picked up a sale bag of french style green beans with a few recipes spinning around in my head for Thanksgiving. Somehow, we always end up with almost all of our family recipes being yellow or light brown. It has become a joke. Of course, the traditional green bean casserole is still brown on top, now isn't it?

After my purchase, my mom announced that she had set aside some green beans from the garden, and stored them in the freezer to make old fashioned crock pot green beans for Thanksgiving. We share the cooking, and since I have quite a bit to do already, I was happy to turn the green beans over to her. Better yet, they won't be topped with anything yellow.

So, on with the story. Now I have these green beans. But with the amount of cooking I have this week, who wants to experiment with casseroles? I decided to do something easier--and keep it in the skillet. The results are pretty delicious, and "Diner" easy! John REALLY liked this. Really is an understatement. Maybe it is just because this is just a normal weekday meal. Maybe he is just getting into the Thanksgiving "zone." If you are looking for an easier side dish that is still creamy and decadent tasting, try this. Since it is made on the stove top, it won't compete for room in the oven. It could go straight from skillet to bowl, or could be prepped ahead and reheated in the microwave oven.

Skillet Green Bean Casserole

This is one of the recipes included in my new cookbook project, Low Carbing Among Friends.

This recipe is available in the book, along with over 60 additional 24/7 Low Carb Diner recipes. By ordering the book, you get more than 300 favorite gluten free recipes from four other well known low carb cooking experts…Jennifer Eloff of Splendid Low Carbing cookbook fame, Kent Altena, the Atkins Diet Geek and You Tube star, nutritionist and author Maria Emmerich of Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal, and popular blogger and food stylist, Carolyn Ketchum of All Day I Dream About Food. Unlike any other cookbook you may own, this one is a compilation of mini cookbooks featuring the talents of these well known low carbers. Think of it as a “best of” project.

Low Carbing Among Friends also features recipes from numerous other talented low carbing friends and recommendations from the medical community who recognize the health benefits of low carb, gluten free living. To preorder your copy, visit http://www.amongfriends.us The official release date is 11/11/11, so pre-order now for a discount.

The celery adds a really nice crunch, and the caramelized onion flavor is wonderful. If you want, go ahead and add a few french fried onions. It will feel more familiar that way!

This easy side dish was great with our Triple Play meal of baked ham. I also made some little cheese muffins from my coconut master mix. These were a little drier than my last batch, as I experimented with a different cheese. The taste was still really good, though. If you want to use the Herbed Popover recipe, you may want to add a little more cream if your dough is too stiff.

The big boys come back home for Thanksgiving Break tomorrow night. I am so excited to see them, and look forward to a wonderful family holiday.