Treats for Your Peeps,
for the Holidays

Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole

November makes me think about Thanksgiving!  Here’s one of my favorite recipes for the holidays….

Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole is made mostly with pantry ingredients. It is simple and fast! This dish takes all of 15 minutes to assemble and just 20 minutes to cook. The final product tastes like a cross between artichoke balls (that’s a throwback to an 80’s appetizer!)* and green bean casserole.  In other words, YUM!

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp minced garlic
• 4 T dried minced onion (or 1 whole fresh onion, minced)
• 1/2 c Olive Oil
• 1 can cut green beans (14.5 oz.), drained
• 1 can artichoke hearts (14.5 oz.), drained and chopped
• 3/4 c Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
• 1 c grated mozzarella cheese (part skim)
• additional 1/4 c grated parmesan, reserved for topping
• additional 1/4 c grated mozzarella, reserved for topping
• 8×8 casserole dish, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Drain and chop artichoke hearts. Drain green beans.
• Over medium heat, sauté minced garlic and onion in the olive oil, till flavors are released, about 1 minute.
• Add green beans to garlic and onion, sauté about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add chopped artichoke hearts, sauté about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir Italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese (1/2 c) and mozzarella (1 c) into mixture and remove from stove top.
•  Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish and top with 1/4 c each parmesan and mozzarella.
• Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole marries very well with pork, chicken, or turkey.
• We serve this in place of stuffing at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. So it does triple duty!
• This dish can be kept, warming, if covered. Reheats well.

* In New Orleans, in the 1980’s, no party/wedding/or brunch was complete without the perfect fingerfood, artichoke balls. This link takes you to NOLA.com where you can search for all sorts of authentic and historic New Orleans recipes. Bon appetit!