5 Bean Basil Salad

Making a special meal for Mom on May 8th? 5 Bean Basil Salad is a perfect salad for brunch or lunch.
5 Bean Basil Salad

Healthy, beautiful, super easy to prepare, and can be made ahead. What’s not to love!!

5 Bean Basil Salad

I no longer am fortunate enough to have my Mother, but we always made a huge ordeal over Mothers Day. My Mom loved good food, and I was always happy to prepare it for her. But on Mothers Day, I always went the extra mile.

5 Bean Basil Salad

Not only did the meal need to be really good, but it had to be beautiful…….just like my Mom! Everything had to be artfully arranged, and only the best china, and flowers would do. After all it was the day we celebrated her.5 Bean Basil Salad

If your Mom deserves a special meal……and what Mom doesn’t? Add Five Bean Basil Salad to the menu. Green beans, kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, and cannellini beans. The colors alone are enough to make your mouth water.

Add the red and yellow of cherry tomatoes, and the red and white of radishes…….art on a platter.

5 Bean Basil Salad

Top it all with what I must say was an excellent basil dressing and you have a salad made for a Queen….a.k.a. Mom!

5 Bean Basil Salad

The Five Bean Basil Salad is so extra easy to prepare that you will have plenty of time to spend with the lady of the day! So spoil you Mom this Mothers Day…..she deserves it!!

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5 Bean Basil Salad

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and blanched
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, plus more for garnish
  • 1 small shallot, quartered
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
  • 1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed & drained
  • 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
  • 1 cup halved red & yellow cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes

Instructions

  1. For dressing:
  2. Combine 1/2 cup basil, shallot, oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender and puree until smooth.
  3. Arrange the green beans and all other ingredients decoratively on a platter. Serve with the dressing. Garnish with the chopped basil.

 

Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Nothing says holidays like…………Green Bean Casserole. 

The green bean casserole was first created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company. Dorcas Reilly led the team that created the recipe while working as a staff member in the home economics department. The inspiration for the dish was “to create a quick and easy recipe” around two things most Americans always had on hand in the 1950s: green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup.

The tradition of this casserole has been here for almost 60 years. Now, sometimes “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”……well this wasn’t so much broke, as it needed an update. 

Canned vegetable to my mind are mushy and oddly colored. I prefer fresh. Canned cream of mushroom soup…….everyone grew up with it as the base for…….well anything with the word casserole in it. Again I prefer homemade. Sure a little more time consuming, but come on……..it the holidays. Doesn’t your family deserve your very best?

Now, I have a story to tell about green bean casserole………I have a brother……he was married……..to a very nice woman who gave him an absolutely amazing son……..that being said…….she did not really cook, except on holidays and she always made….you guessed it…..Green Bean Casserole. It was perfectly fine, don’t get me wrong, but by this time I had become kind of a food snob. So, anything that was not made from scratch…….well I turned up my nose. I have eased up a bit on the homemade thing……not a lot but some…….after they divorced it was kind of a joke that we wouldn’t be having green bean casserole anymore.

Green Bean Casserole 1

Ok……. so I swooped in on my white…..apron……… and revamped the recipe so it was part homemade, part traditional.

I used real green beans, onions, mushrooms, a simple white sauce with sour cream for …..well creaminess. I just couldn’t make the fried onions for the topping that were anywhere near those traditional store bought ones. Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone so, I added some panko crumbs for extra crunch.

It is not as easy as the open can and dump method, but you can make it ahead, so all you have to do is throw it in the oven.

So, treat you family right and make them a homemade Green Bean Casserole for this holiday season.

Green Bean Collage

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Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound green beans, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ medium onion, sliced
  • 4 ounces baby bella mushrooms sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup fried onions
  • 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Cook the green beans to desired doneness in a pot of salted boiling water. Plunge in an ice bath (big bowl of ice and water) to stop the cooking.
  3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add onion and mushrooms cooking about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Slowly whisk in milk. Simmer 5-10 minutes, until mixture thickens. Whisk in sour cream, and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Drain beans add to sauce in saucepan. Stir to combine. Bake 25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Top with fried onions and panko crumbs and bake 5 minutes more or until topping is golden brown.

Keywords: casserole, green beans, mushrooms, onion, fried onions, bake, holiday

 

 

Green Bean Goat Cheese Salad

Green Bean Goat Cheese Salad

Oh, what to do with a beautiful bunch of green beans………

Green Bean Goat Cheese Salad!

Basket of Beans

My green beans this year were the most beautiful I have ever grown. I’m pleased, because the weather has been less than perfect for gardening. Beans usually like it warm and it really hasn’t gotten the normal summer warmth.

I usually make green beans in the as Tim would say “Northern” eaten style…..you know, fry up some bacon, add onion, beans, and water, then cook. I love this way, but it’s not very inventive for a food blog. So, I strived for something a little more creative.

Green Bean Salad 2

Being a huge fan of goat cheese, I remember having it in a green bean dish, but is was a warm dish…………. why wouldn’t it work with a cold one………thank goodness it did. Now, every salad needs a crunchy element, I happen to love walnuts, but you can substitute what every kind of nut you prefer. But please,in the name of all that’s holy…….toast any nuts you are going to use in a salad. It enhances the flavor soooo much!

Green Bean Salad

For a dressing, I used a basic dijon dressing with fresh tarragon ……..from my massive tarragon bush……..the thing is crazy big! Even if I used a cup everyday I would never use it all…….

Green Bean Salad 1

This dish is super, super, simple. You can make it in advance, and assemble it right before you eat, making the perfect choice for a take-along dish. Serve Green Bean Goat Cheese Salad with grilled_______( fill in the blank) what ever you like for a perfect summer side dish!

Green Bean Salad 3

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Basket of Beans

Green Bean Goat Cheese Salad

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Cook
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound of fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 2 ounces of goat cheese
  • 1/4 cup walnut, toasted
  • For Dressing:
  • 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 8 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, minced
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Steam or boil them for about 5 minutes until they are tender crisp. Drain and place in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain beans from ice bath and set aside.
  2. Mix all dressing ingredients and whisk until totally blended.
  3. Place green beans in a serving bowl, crumble on goat cheese, and sprinkle with walnut. Dress before serving.

Keywords: green beans, goat cheese, walnuts, tarragon, side dish