Onion Rings for Green Bean Casserole

The official cooking has started in my house for Thanksgiving dinner.  One of the favorites of my family is Green Bean Casserole.  You know the kind:  2 cans of green beans, one can of cream of mushroom soup, and basically French's Onions on top and mixed in the middle.  We have it every year for every holiday and they all expect extra to be cooked so they can have leftovers.

This year will be different.  I cannot buy a can of French's Onions, nor can I buy cans of green beans or cream of mushroom soup.  So today I tried making my own little fried onions.  When I make my own food I am in control of what is in it.  It is not that we are low calorie, or fat free in this house.  We just eat REAL FOOD and in appropriate quantities.  It is not as easy as opening a can of this and a can of that but I feel so much better physically and psychologically, knowing what is in my food.

These onions were SO easy to make and really were just like French's Onions but fresher and delicious!  Here is how we did it:

2 whole yellow onions (organic) cut into small pieces.
About 2 cups of whole milk (no added hormones, and non-homogenized)
About 2 cups of whole wheat freshly ground flour (sprouted)
A generous amount of garlic seasoned salt.
Olive oil for frying (olive oil has tremendous health benefits for an oil)

Soak the little onion pieces in the milk for at least five minutes (I cried like a baby cutting those onions today... are organic onions more potent than conventional onions?).  Heat the oil in the pan while the onions are soaking.

With two forks I lifted the onions from their milk bath and placed them in the flour and seasoning until well coated.  Then I fried them in the olive oil until brown and placed them on a paper towel to drain.  I was surprised that the flour stayed on them and they came out crispy and brown just like the onions I am used to seeing in the can.  Journey retrieved them from the oil with a slotted spoon and was eating them as fast as they were cooling.  I had to stop her from eating them all so we would have enough for the casserole.

Don't they look good??   They taste great and were really easy to do.  As with all the food I cook, I will keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight container until I put the casserole together Thursday morning.

Now to make the cream of mushroom soup with the remains of the milk and flour I used for the onions!  I love to have an opportunity to use everything and not waste!