For those you who don’t want a make-ahead mix but just want to make their condensed soup for recipes from scratch, to control the ingredients used, here is how you make un-canned cream condensed soup.
Un-CANNED CREAM SOUP Melt 6 Tbsp. butter in a saucepan as soon as butter gets bubbly and lightly golden stir in quickly with a whisk 6 Tbsp. plain flour. Whisk constantly until bubbly and then pour in slowly, 2 1/2 cups of liquid. This can be milk, chicken or beef stock or leftover liquid from cooked vegetables. Whisk until mixture is thickened and smooth. This makes a basic cream sauce. Use the variations below to create specific soup bases. This recipe can easily be made larger anytime by using equal amounts of butter & flour and just adding more liquid to make the desired thickness. Always salt and pepper to taste for best flavor. TOMATO SOUP: Use tomato juice in place of liquid. Add pinches of garlic and onion powder and a dash of Italian seasoning if desired. MUSHROOM SOUP: Saute 1/4 cup of finely minced mushrooms and 1 Tbsp. of minced onion in a bit of butter. Add in 1 tsp. beef broth powder. Proceed with making your uncanned soup using milk for the liquid. CREAMY CHICKEN: Add in 1 Tbsp. chicken broth powder. Also ¼ tsp. garlic powder adds to the flavor and salt to taste if needed. Tiny bits of deboned chicken can be stirred in if desired. Use a mixture of milk and/or chicken stock for liquid. CREAMY CELERY: Saute 1/4 cup finely minced celery in 1 Tbsp. butter. Add this and 1 tsp. chicken broth powder and pinches of onion powder and celery salt. Proceed with making the uncanned soup to make a thick condensed soup. Use milk or vegetable stock for liquid. CHEESE SAUCE: To make a creamy cheese sauce for pouring over steamed vegetables, I just add grated cheese (about 1 1/2 cups) and salt to taste. Stir until creamy and smooth. If you like - minced fresh garlic gives the cheese sauce some real pizzaz! I use milk for the liquid.
Martha H. Greene © 2009 for The HomeMakers Mentor