Cheesy Gooey Green Bean Casserole

Hello, everyone~ I made a Cheesy Gooey Green Bean Casserole modeled after Mama's Green Bean Casserole, My Way. I didn't quite make it her way, but this cheesy casserole is definitely Mama approved~ Major changes I made include (1) roughly chopping the sauteed veggies (because I eat mushrooms best when I can barely see them ), (2) using frozen green beans instead of canned (as my family, especially Mama, prefers fresh and frozen these days), (3) adding garlic cloves and garlic seasonings (the garlic and onion combo made the kitchen smell divine~), and (4) using a smaller 6 by 9" baking dish lined with foil.  Unfortunately, our oven is broken, so as per usual, my casserole was baked in our Cuisinart 1800W 4lb Air Fryer Toaster Oven. 

Cheesy Gooey Green Bean Casserole

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 (15-16 oz) bags of frozen Green Beans, steamed in microwave and drained (I used 1 bag French cut & 1 bag whole cut)

2 cans (10.3/4 0z.) cream of chicken soup

1 package (2.8 oz.) Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Recipe Pieces

1 package Southern Mills Cheddar Cheese Sauce Mix + 1 cup water  or  1 cup prepared cheese sauce  

1 (6oz.) canister French Fried Onions, divided in half (I sadly couldn't find the cheesy ones Mama liked)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 

4 tablespoon butter, melted (divided 1 and 3)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (mild the way Mama likes)

Prep: Line 6 by 9" baking dish with foil. Prepare frozen green beans as instructed on their bags. Drain and set aside. [I let mine drain on paper towels.] Prepare butter and cheese sauce. [Follow instructions on cheese mix if you want. Personally, I microwaved water for 2 minutes before mixing cheese mix into it. By the time I was ready to use the cheese mix, it had thickened up quite nicely.] Set them aside as well.

Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of butter until tender. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl mix green beans, onions/mushroom/garlic mixture, and bacon bits.

Add soups, cheese sauce, and 1/2 of French Fried Onions. Mix well. Add seasonings and the remaining 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Bake at 300 for 25 minutes. [Note: As toaster ovens sometimes cook faster than traditional ones, you may need to place tented foil on top of the casserole.]

Top with cheese and the remaining French Fried Onions, and cook 5 more minutes. 

I was intimidated going into making this, but it was definitely worth the effort. My family absolutely loved my Cheesy Gooey Green Bean Casserole~ We ate it for dinner with salmon baked by my brother in the same toaster oven.

Sweet Potato Mashup

This recipe was entirely my mom's idea. She has her own cooking blog, In Cindy's Kitchen. Feel free to check it out. Mama loves baked sweet potatoes, and I love Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. Since we happened to have both on hand today, she suggested mixing the two for her dessert! I thought this was a perfect recipe for me to experiment with making. For this recipe, I used our Cuisinart 1800W 4lb Air Fryer Toaster Oven.

Sweet Potato Mashup

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes

2 Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies

Cinamon-sugar (to taste, optional)

Salted butter (to taste, optional)

First, scrub the potatoes clean in a bowl of water.

Next, place the potatoes in a pan. Bake at 300-degrees for 30-50 minutes until desired softness. [I checked after 30 minutes and Mama told me to add 20 minutes. After a total of 50 minutes, the potatoes were done.]

Peel and mash the potatoes in a bowl. Add butter and cinnamon sugar as desired.

Crumble up the oatmeal creme pies, and add the gooey pieces on top of the sweet potatoes.

And now the fun part~ Dig in~~

This experiment was definitely a success. Mama loved it~ Try sweet potatoes Mama's way~

Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake: With a Splenda Oatmeal Crumb Topping

As my mom, Cindy, said on her In Cindy's Kitchen blog, my family LOVES cherry-pineapple dump cake. She added her own twist to the yellow cake mix topping. Check out my mom's nutty (with pecans sprinkled on half of the cake mix) recipe here. For my own flair, I decided to make an oatmeal crumb topping like those used in my favorite crisps. In an effort to make the dessert more "healthy" I used Splenda instead of sugar~ Also, like my Roasted Potatoes, this dump cake was baked at 250 degrees in our Cuisinart 1800W 4lb Air Fryer Toaster Oven.

Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake: With a Splenda Oatmeal Crumb Topping

• 1(20 oz.) can of crushed pineapple with juice; drained (draining is optional)
• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling (preferably without high fructose corn syrup. I am trying Lucky Leaf Fruit Filling & Topping, Cherry, Premium (21 oz) for the first time)
• A spoonful of vanilla (optional)
• Splenda Oatmeal Crumb Topping (See below my Splenda Oatmeal Crumb Topping recipe)

Grease pan (I used a 6 by 9-inch pan) with butter wrapper.

Drain crushed pineapple a bit and dump it in the pan. Spread with a spoon.

Dump in cherry pie filling and spread evenly.

Top with crumb topping.

Cook on bake setting at 250 degrees for about 1 hour or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Splenda Oatmeal Crumb Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 4 spoonfuls of Splenda (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (to taste)
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats (Instant or quick oats could also work.)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter at room temperature (If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pre-cutting the butter is optional, but may save time when mixing butter into dry ingredients.)

Dump flour, Splenda sweetener, cinnamon, and oats in a ziplock bag. (Alternatively, you can mix the topping in a bowl with a pastry blender. I personally find the ziplock method more convenient for cleaning etc.)  Mix the dry ingredients. Add the butter.

Squeeze and mix butter into dry ingredients for several minutes until a crumbly consistency.

Roasted Potatoes

Hi, readers. My mom, Cindy, previously shared this recipe for roasted potatoes as a bonus recipe on her In Cindy's Kitchen blog. Unlike my mother, I'm not a fan of exact measurements. I prefer a little experimentation. I roasted these in the Cuisinart 1800W 4lb Air Fryer Toaster Oven at 250 degrees on bake.

Roasted Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes (I used 5 or 6 russet potatoes. My mom used golden in her recipe.)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (I used two to three cap fulls.)

1 - 2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb Seasoning (seasoned to taste)

1 tsp. Garlic Salt (seasoned to taste)

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Microwave in water for about 10 minutes. (Microwaving cuts down the roasting time in the oven.)

Be careful of the hot potatoes and water! Use a large slotted spoon to scope the potatoes out of the water.

Place in the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Stir around on the pan with the spoon. Bake 20-25 minutes at 250 degrees in the Cuisinart Toaster Oven until tender.

Enjoy~ While my mom made these potatoes as a side dish for fried fish, I made them as a side for baked chicken and microwave steamed broccoli. Have it your way~~