GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE with MUSHROOMS, CHEESE AND BACON

The traditional "green bean casserole" has always intrigued me. I see it mostly during the holidays and I want to enjoy it, although I'm not too fond of the mushroom soup sauce it usually has. This year, I set out to re-invent this holiday casserole and I absolutely love the final results.
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I used fresh green beans, sauteed sweet onions, portabello mushrooms, crisp bacon, a little cheddar cheese and my own white sauce. The resulting "green bean casserole" was delicious and we ate a ton of it.

1 pound of fresh green beans cut into 2" pieces
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 pound of baby portobello mushrooms sliced
5 slices of bacon fried crisp (drained well & crumbled)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (loosely packed)
1 clove garlic minced finely
3 tablespoons white flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk


In a large frying pan, saute the chopped onions until they smell sweet; add the garlic and saute until it barely turns golden. 

Add the green beans and mushrooms (mixing well) and saute for a few minutes until they start to wilt just a little (don't cook them all the way through). Remove pan from heat and set aside.
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In a sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter; add the flour, salt and pepper, stirring quickly. Cook on medium for about a minute (to remove any flour taste). 

Slowly add the milk while you are whisking like a mad woman while (this will eliminate lumps in the sauce). Once the milk and butter-flour mixture are mixed well, cook on medium heat (stirring every once in a while) until it gets nice and thick.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and crisp (crumbled) bacon. Add this mixture to the vegetables and stir well (but gently). Place in an lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until very hot.
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It was really tasty and the leftovers made a mouth watering lunch the next day.