Hi Friends! It’s another Tasty Tuesday, and today I am passing on to you another precious family recipe, this time for a savory side dish, a cheesy green bean casserole so delicious, so decadent, it has been nicknamed, “The Gutbuster”.  It’s true! I made this recipe for the first time over thirty years ago. Troy’s brother Mike was visiting for dinner, and Mike was the first one to coin the phrase “Gutbuster” in connection with this exquisite casserole. It stuck. And to this day, I am asked at pretty much any family sit down dinner if I will be bringing “the Gutbuster”. Yes, my friend… and now I am giving the recipe for “The Gutbuster” to you! It’s a winner, and I hope you love it! So let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 Tbsp margarine
• 2 small jars Kraft Old English Cheese
• 1 4oz jar chopped pimentos, drained
• 1 6oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained
• 2 14.5 oz cans French style green beans, drained
• 2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, crushed
• 4 Tbsp additional melted butter 

*Note: This serves roughly 10-12 people depending on what other sides you offer. If you need to add for more people, I would add 1 can of beans, 1 can of soup, 1 jar of cheese for every additional 6-8 people, (and use larger cookware)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 pan using a stick of butter.

Melt the 4 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet. Add in your onion. I like onion, so I may use a little more, but you can use more or less based on your preference.

Let the onion simmer for a few minutes in the butter, turning with a spoon or spatula occasionally. Drain liquid from the jar of mushrooms, and the pimentos, and add to the onions in the skillet.

Stir and allow to simmer about another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

It should already be smelling pretty amazing. To open the jars of cheese, I use a hook like a bottle opener to pry the lid off. The cheese is super thick, so you need something strong and narrow to get the cheese out. I use a butter knife.

Add the 2 jars of cheese and the 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup to your onion mixture.

It takes a little bit for the cheese to melt down. You can gently stir it.

Once its all melted, and you’ve stirred it so its mixed, drain the green beans and add them.

And gently stir it so its all coated. Your pan is pretty heavy and pretty full at this point.

Oh my word… right here right now it is so difficult to maintain self control! But hold steady! Get your buttered 9 x 13 ready… take your skillet over and pour the contents into the 9 x 13.

Use your spoon to level the contents… and now a nice crumb topping. Grab a sleeve of Ritz Crackers, and you can either transfer them to a large ziplok bag to crush them, or I actually crush them in the sleeve. Keep it closed, and apply pressure first on one end, then the other, You will hear/feel them crumbling. Then, grab sections of the crackers and apply sort of a pinching pressure.

Open one end and Voila! Plus, keeping them in the sleeve makes it easy to pour them over the top of the casserole.

Cracker crumbs on? Check!

Now melt the reserved 4 Tbsp of butter, and drizzle over the Ritz Cracker Crumbs.

And put it in the oven, and bake uncovered until golden brown on the top, about 30 minutes.

The cheese around the edges gets all bubbly… and oh, it smells heavenly!

This is the perfect side dish to go with any savory meat, such as ham.

The rich flavors of the Old English cheese and the onions and butter and beans all meld together into a savory concoction with the power to pull everything together in harmony on your plate.

Once you’ve made this casserole, that’s it. It becomes “your signature dish”, and it will be your number one requested side dish. You are more than welcome to adopt our nickname, “The Gutbuster” for your family. I would be honored.

My son Jake says his favorite part is the crispy cracker topping.

We’ve had this dish and other special dishes at so many holiday meals down through the years.

There is something about a family gathering with rich, delicious food. As the food is being prepared, the tantalizing smell is making everyone hungry! The delicious smells trigger thoughts of so many golden moments in the echoes of my mind.

Memories are shared, and laughter erupts over and over again. Someone is getting the ice water poured. Someone else is carving the meat. Maybe at your house there are little children. We always had a kid table and a grown up table at holiday meals. (I’m smiling even now remembering those times!) These meals are never completely perfect, yet they are perfectly imperfect!  I remember the year the turkey hit the carpet before it hit anyone’s plate. But that now is one of my most precious memories, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Family. From the newest babies to our precious seniors. Good memories, difficult challenges, soaring highs and the hardest heartaches. But still family is rooted together in a love so strong that it will endure forever. And there are memories of those we love who have gone on to Heaven, and yet our love for them is as sweet and as strong as ever. Nothing can ever diminish that love or take those dear sweet memories from us. And as time passes, new memories are ever being created.

You look around the room, and it just feels right. You belong. What a gift that is! Each person here belongs! Regardless of successes or failures, each of us is loved and highly treasured for who we are. And then it hits like a waterfall, for this moment, this food, this warm house and these people, I am truly grateful.

I hope you have a fantastic week! I hope you enjoy adding the GutBuster to your list of recipes!

I’ll be back Friday for another Fashion Friday!

Love Always,

Amy

Family ~ Like the branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions, yet our roots will forever remain as one.   Unknown