Redo a Classic - the Green Bean Casserole

Holiday time is coming upon us and soon we'll be seeing the television commercials that try and define the season for us. Unfortunately the holiday season has become very commercialized, so the original true messages of the season may not get through to many.  I'm not getting into all that, but what I'd like to address is a holiday classic recipe, the Green Bean Casserole.  Now my family, and most people I know have not ever served this recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day, so I'm not really sure why it's a "holiday classic".  I mean you never really see any commercials for it from Campbell's or French's until the holiday season, so it's, to me, a classic recipe because these companies say so.

Anyway, my hubby and his mom like this dish, so I make it for them whenever I feel like it, not just because a holiday dictates it.  I was a good girl and prepared the dish using the Campbell's recipe verbatim; nope, didn't play with it at all.; that is until now.

Here is the original recipe from the Campbell's Kitchen website:

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Directions:
Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.

Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.

Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

Serves 6

...and now here is my recipe and my hubby says it is better than the original by far; it has a headier flavor from the Worcestershire, is creamier and just has an overall better flavor.  The French fried onions are crispier, since they are entirely on top of the casserole, not mixed inside and getting soggy. Try my version and judge for yourself, but it's ok if you still prefer the original.

Green Bean Casserole
(An old classic redone)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion diced
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms
3 (14.5 oz) cans French style green beans, drained
2 (10.75 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp each ground black pepper and paprika
2 cups French fried onions

Preparation:

On medium heat, melt butter in small skillet; sauté onion and mushrooms till the onions just begin to soften; do not brown. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sautéed onions and mushrooms with all other ingredients except the fried onions. Spoon into the casserole dish and spread the fried onions evenly over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes; remove from oven and let settle for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Mary Cokenour