Cream soup mix

[barleychown]

Tired of buying those cans of "cream of ______" soup? Here's a recipe for a mix to keep on hand.


Cream soup mix
2 C non-fat dry milk powder
3/4 C corn starch
1/4 C instant bouillon (in whatever flavor you want)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix and store in an air-tight container
To use, mix 1/3 C of mix and 1 1/4 C water, equals one can of cream soup. Mix, heat and stir until thickened, then use in recipe.

This batch equals nine cans of soup.

[MassMama]

  Thank you so much Sarah!! Have you tried it? I use a LOT of this soup during the winter ..

[barleychown]

I have. It works wonderful in the casseroles and such that call of a can of soup.

[Wrennie]

I use cream soups in casseroles all the time. How long of a shelf life does the mix have ones its all combined?

[barleychown]

As long as you are using dry ingredients, about a year. After that, the spices start to loose some of their punch.

[Dianna]

That is a neat recipe for the soups, Sarah. I use cream of chicken, cream of cheddar, cream of celery, and cream of mushroom soups all the time for my casseroles, too. That should save a lot of money on buying individual cans of stuff....

[MassMama]

Ohhh Cool I just need to remember POWDERED MILK that I have needed for quite a while now and keep forgetting Great for emergencys! 

[Triss]

What an awesome recipe!  I am looking forward to trying that one cuz I never seem to have the cream soups on hand when I want them spur of the moment.

[duh]

This is absolutely fantastic.  And so money saving.  Thankyou so much for sharing this.

[landofoz]

This is absolutely fantastic.  And so money saving.  Thankyou so much for sharing this.

Ya know, I was just thinking the same thing.  Powdered milk is expensive here though.  A small box is like $4.00, which is the cost of only a gallon of milk here.  I wonder how many gallons a small box makes?

[patches]

Sarah, this really sounds like a great idea for using in casseroles, and it would be great to have on hand.  Thanks much for posting this!   

What an awesome recipe!  I am looking forward to trying that one cuz I never seem to have the cream soups on hand when I want them spur of the moment.

Boy, you're right, Triss, this seems like a problem I'm always having because sometimes I decide to make something on the spur of the moment and then I have to stop and run to the store for the soup/s I need.    

[Jessica]

Sarah, do you ever add chopped mushrooms or anything when you are heating this up?

[barleychown]

I do. Mushrooms, onions, whatever would be good in the recipe. Be careful when buying bullion...most have crazy ammounts of MSG. I buy jars of something called 'better than bullion'. They still have some not-so-nice ingredients, but far fewer, and they are paste consistancy, so much easier to stir into things.

I just don't add it until I'm making it to use...easy enough, then I can decide what flavor I want.

[Jessica]

Thank you!!

[Tina]

I use better than bullion too. (It makes my French dip sandwiches).
I think it is almost as easy to make a cream base soup fresh and from scratch each time. And maybe a little healthier on the 'real foods' side? I use an instant corn starch that can be used hot or cold (think instant pudding here). I get something called ThickenUp from Walgreen's in their nutrition aisle. It is made to thicken patient's food that have a hard time drinking liquids. Ingredients, food starch modified corn by Novartis Medical Nutrition.
So saute your mushrooms or whatever in a little butter, add some base if you want, a little whole milk and/or water depending on how thick you  want it add regular corn starch made into a slurry with water and cook until a little thickened. Or make the whole shebang cold with the instant corn starch and pour it over your roast/chicken/veges in your crock that is called for in the recipe. Or your oven casserole.
I do these things by 'feel' so I haven't actual amounts. But you almost can't mess it up. The amounts of the ThickenUp are given per type of liquid on the can. It tastes better, you have more control over the salt and types of fat involved. It really probably adds one bowl and a spoon or so to your basic recipe dishes.
But if I am making a hamburger/mushroom soup and noodles or rice casserole or skillet type dish I just brown my meat and drain the grease and build my cream of.... on the meat in the pan. No extra dishes. (Maybe a spoon or two)

[Jessica]

Thanks, Tina.

[Penny]

Good recipe, thanks Sarah.