I've been wanting to find a way to make my own "cream of..." soups to replace the store-bought version, and found a website a few weeks ago with several home made alternatives for various condensed soups. The store bought soups are so convenient, but I wanted to know how to make a healthier alternative. I made the cream of mushroom soup substitute the other night, and it was delicious. I found myself scraping the leftovers from the saucepan with a spoon and thinking about how it would make a great soup this coming winter! It was very simple to make, because it's basically a roux combined with chicken stock that you allow to thicken and reduce. Just make sure you condense it enough; I was in a hurry so mine had more of a soup-like consistency that would be perfect on its own, but for adding to a baked dish, it would have been better to take a couple of extra minutes and let it thicken up and reduce some more to a "condensed" consistency.
Below is the recipe. It's really not that much extra work, most of the ingredients are things you already have on hand, and knowing that the ingredients are healthier than the processed cans from the store is motivating. I tripled the recipe and froze what I didn't need. Like I said, this would also make a delicious cold weather soup to serve on its own.
Cream of mushroom soup alternativeFrom MarilynMoll.com (click here for original recipe and other "cream of" substitutes)
Makes the equivalent of one 10-ounce can of soup.
I N G R E D I E N T S :
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chicken stock, water, or milk (I used chicken stock-click here for a homemade recipe)
1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms
1 Tbsp. onion (I cheated and sprinkled a dash of onion powder instead)
D I R E C T I O N S :
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, and saute ¼ C finely chopped mushrooms and 1 Tbsp finely chopped onion. Blend flour and salt into saucepan while cooking and stirring until bubbly.
Using a wire whisk to prevent lumps, stir in liquid ingredient choice slowly.
Medium thick sauce is comparable to undiluted condensed soups and makes approximately the same amount as a 10 oz can.
2 comments:
I love this idea. I've been meaning to try doing this- thanks for the inspiration!
Oh, I've been dying to make an alternative too. I saved one to try that is a little different than yours--the person that had written it up used whole wheat flour & no chicken stock b/c the store ones often have MSG & I think she was allergic. Anyway, I would love to try both & see what the difference in taste is....I'll send you the other recipe in case you want to try it. Either way, I'll try yours too!
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