Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

Okay, so I made the Green Bean Casserole again using all of the changes I have made to my previously posted recipes on Condensed Mushroom Soup and French Fried Onions.

OMG…even my MOTHER LOVED IT!!! This is bigger than BIG! I could give my mom a Big Mac, tell her it was gluten free (even though it is obviously NOT) and she would automatically hate it. Period. My mom knew the GB casserole was gluten-free and with a smile on her face she asked for more!! YIPEE!

So, I thought I would compile all of the updated recipes and links onto one page, and hopefully make it easier down the line to locate my most recent version of the recipe! I can only name so many posts “New and Improved,” or “Update,” etc. before it will get really confusing! I think I will move the old posts to a new category called “The Evolution of Green Bean Casserole,” or something like that.

I don’t want to delete the outdated posts entirely because the original posts are good recipes but I have a deep seeded belief that most things can always be improved upon. But also because, first and foremost, this blog is my gift to my sons. An online journal of their childhood through their mama’s eyes. It is important to me to teach my boys how to acknowledge and be humbled by their mistakes. Then to learn and grow from them. Besides, isn’t that how you build a repertoire of funny stories to tell later?

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” -John Powell.

Back to the original purpose of this post (I have mentioned my ADHD right? LOL!). All I can say is that I have been feeling quite smug for finally conquering my long time nemesis…Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole! According to some of my “glutenator” taste testers, (and a couple of them don’t even like the gluten containing version of GB Casserole) this recipe is BETTER than the gluten version using Campbell’s and French’s products!!! WOO HOO!

The mushroom soup in the above picture is thick and creamy like the Campbell’s Condensed Mushroom Soup. I know a lot of GF recipes online recommend using Progresso’s Creamy Mushroom Soup. While I like the soup itself, I have found that even when I thicken it with cornstarch, etc., the end result (as a condensed soup substitute) is runny and does not contribute the same flavor as Campbell’s (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but my mission for the past 5 years has been to duplicate Campbell’s!). There is another canned Cream of Mushroom Soup, by Health Valley, that I personally don’t care for one bit so I will leave it at that.

I have also tried most of the “GF Condensed Soup” recipes that I have found online, except for the one that uses baby formula as a dairy substitute (hey, it may be worth a try! There is nothing quite like the resourcefulness of a mother! ). The recipe I have used most and liked the best, I found on the GF Utah website years ago. It is a good recipe, but it does not taste like Campbell’s, at least not to me. When I tried other recipes in the GB casserole, the soup seemed to break down during the cooking process and ended up just as soupy as when I thickened the commercial canned cream of mushroom soups with cornstarch or other GF flour. Most of the recipes also call for chicken bouillon, which I think cuts the mushroom flavor. They also call for too much liquid, often a cup or more.

I believe the key has been figuring out what “Condensed” soups really are. Condensed Soup is just soup with most of the liquid removed versus thickening a soup with a roux, which is what I have always done! Humor the “Alton Brown” side of me if you will (I LOVE him!):

The following is from the Wise Geek website:

Condensed soup is soup which is cooked with a minimum of water, so that it forms a thick stock which almost resembles a sauce. To use condensed soup, consumers add water or cream to the highly concentrated soup and heat it. Several manufacturers make condensed soup, offering it in cans and vacuum packed cartons, and some consumers also make a variation at home, using dried ingredients to make a concentrated soup mix. The product is extremely useful, especially in disaster kits, (which is what led me to the Everyday Food Storage website, see below) since it is easy to reconstitute soup cans into a meal and condensed soup tends to be very nutritious.

When commercial condensed soup is manufactured, ingredients are simmered to make a thick stock, which is boiled down so that the amount of water in the stock is greatly reduced. Other ingredients are added, along with thickeners, and the result is a very thick soup which can be thinned with milk or water to turn it into a meal.

Some consumers complain that condensed soup is too salty, and they prefer to make their own at home. Home made soup can be condensed through long cooking, although it tends not to be as shelf stable as commercial condensed soup. A dried soup mix can also be made by blending dry milk powder, corn starch, bouillon flakes, and dried herbs and spices. The mix can easily be turned into soup with the addition of water, although it will be more like a broth until ingredients are added.

Cha Ching!

Using this as my guiding principle, I have also made Condensed Cream of Chicken, Condensed Cream of Celery, and a non-creamy condensed soup…”Condensed Chicken with Rice!” I will save those for another day though, this post is long enough!

This is my GF Condensed Mushroom Soup:

Seriously, doesn't this look like the Campbell's version??? Hang on, now I have to know...I am going in!

Alright, I am back from the store. Thank goodness Campbell’s Condensed Soups have a flip top lid, because I forgot to get a cheapy can opener! Seriously, you’d think I was getting ready to handle plutonium!

Wow, this is much lighter than I remember, guess I should have bought a colored disposable bowl instead of a white one so you can see it better! I am thinking that the Kitchen Bouquet is not necessary for coloring unless you want it!

See, I told you I am gluten-phobic, I wear the gloves too! LOL! An added bonus: No MSG in the homemade version!

GF Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup “Magic Mix” (see below)

3/4 cup liquid (I used the juice from 1 4-oz. can of mushrooms, then topped off the rest with Pacific Foods Mushroom Broth or you could use all mushroom broth, it has a wonderful mushroom-y flavor)

In Albuquerque, I have found this at Whole Foods (above) and Sunflower Market. To reduce waste since it is a big carton, pour the leftover mushroom broth into ice cube trays and freeze. Remove mushroom broth ice cubes from tray and store in a Ziploc freezer bag until the next time you need it! By the way, this broth is Free of Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Soy, Wheat and Yeast! So even if you need to omit yeast from your diet (and mushrooms on the list) you should still be able to make this soup and just omit the canned mushrooms and use all mushroom broth for the liquid!

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet (which is just for “browning” the soup and does not impart much (if any) flavor. I called the company and it is gluten-free.

1/8 cup of the reserved canned Mushrooms, chopped (I have used the entire can of mushrooms in the past and that is too much. It alters the texture. Out of curiosity, I bought a can of the Campbell’s Condensed Mushroom Soup, took it to a friends house, had her put it in a bowl and took a good look at it. There are not a lot of mushroom pieces in the soup so in the spirit of making a true “copycat” recipe, I do not use many either).

Magic Mix (by Crystal Godfrey of Everyday Food Storage):

• 2 1/3 C. Powdered Milk (or substitute a non-dairy powdered milk like rice, potato, soy, (or get bold and try dairy-free/lactose-free baby formula!).

• 1 C. All Purpose Flour (I used Tom Sawyers GF All Purpose Flour)

• 1 C. (2 sticks) Margarine or Butter, at room temperature (I used Smart Balance in the tub, and I am sure you could also use a vegan spread for a dairy-free substitute).

I found the following video clip on YouTube of Crystal Godfrey from the website Everyday Food Storage. I made a couple of changes to her recipe and that is my modified recipe above. I know Crystal says to use only real margarine (not spread) or butter, but I have only ever used Smart Balance in the tub, which clearly says “Buttery Spread,” and it has turned out GREAT every time!

GF French Fried Onions

I posted my modified recipe yesterday and you can access it here.

And there you have it! Classic Green Bean Casserole, only better because it is gluten free!

If anyone tries this recipe(s), I would really love your opinion. If you have an idea on how to make it even better, I would love to know that too! If we can all pool our collective knowledge, resources and desire for gluten-free food that tastes GREAT and does not leave us either:

1. Preferring to do without having the family favorite comfort foods of our past, because they are “just not the same” or
2. Doing something harmful, like cheating, which is what I regretfully did for far too long and I will now pay the consequences for the rest of my life.

Here’s to great food and even better health!