Rachael Ray's Chicken & Green Bean Casserole

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole with Fried Shallots

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole without topping

 Last year at Thanksgiving,

 I attempted to make 

Green Bean Casserole 

from scratch 

I made several mistakes:

1. Attempting to try a new recipe on Thanksgiving Day
2. Not allowing enough time to cook it  i.e. getting stressed, too many people in the kitchen ( need I say more? )
3. Using way more fresh green beans than I had sauce for - result, a very crunchy and dry casserole.  

It did not make a very good impression

 

Needless to say,  I knew I needed to try it again before our next Thanksgiving as I really like the idea of using fresh green beans and making my own creamy mushroom sauce.
  
I turned on the Food Network last weekend, and Rachael Ray was preparing this dish.   This is a perfect dish to prepare now since it has chicken in it; it's like a full meal.  

This is really amazing.  First of all, it has Boursin Cheese.  One of my favorites. 

Since I was doing it all from scratch, I even made my own onion rings.  If you have the time, it's so worth it... as Rach would say "YUM-O!"  

This is definitely my "go to" Green Bean Casserole recipe (without the chicken) for Thanksgiving!

 
 

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

Rachael Ray's Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed & cut into thirds
• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 4 TBSPs butter
• 1/2 lb button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large shallots, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Pepper
• 2 TBSPs fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 TBSPs flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock or poaching liquid (if you poach your chicken)
• 1 cup cream or half-and-half
• 1 wheel Boursin or other garlic and herb cheese (5.4 ounces)
• 1 1/2 lbs cooked, pulled chicken either poaches or store bough rotisserie
• For Fried Onions (store bought are fine as well to save time)
• Frying oil
• 1 small to med onion, very thinly sliced ( I used 3-4 shallots)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup flour aggressively seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika

Directions

•  Bring a few inches of water to a low boil in a skillet.  Add salt and the green beans.  Cook 3-4 minutes until tender-crisp; drain
• Heat the EVOO & butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms & lightly brown them, 7-8 minutes.  Add the shallots & garlic, season with salt, pepper & thyme.  Stir for 2-3 minutes more; add the flour, stir in for a minute, then add the wine. 
• Stir in the stock and thicken. Add the boursin cheese, green beans and chicken & thicken a bit
• Transfer into a casserole dish.  Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly about 45-60 minutes.  Top with the homemade or store-bought fried onions.
• For homemade fried onions:
• heat frying oil to 365 degrees F in a countertop fryer or
• 2-3 inches of oil in a deep, medium pot over medium to medium hight heat
• Separate the onions into rings and soak in the buttermilk
• Toss a few rings at a time into the flour & fry until crips
• Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining onions.

NOTE: I fried the shallots first before preparing the casserole.   Also, I think next time I will use half-and-half instead of cream.  The Boursin cheese is pretty rich.