I would like a recipe to use in place of canned cream soups such as mushroom, celery, and chicken that tastes like Campbell's or store brand.
They all have chemicals and preservatives that I can't have, but I pass up so many great looking recipes because I don't quite know what to substitute easily. I have tried some of the organic/natural brands from the health food store, but they taste and smell horrible to me.
By Dorothy Myers from NY
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You could take milk and thicken it up using just a touch of flour till it gets to the consistency you want. Then flavor it according to the recipe you are making.
A homemade version will not taste like Campbell's since it doesn't contain all the salt and other additives you want to avoid. Make your own cream of whatever substitute by using a basic white sauce with celery or mushrooms added.
This recipe doesn't taste exactly like Campbells, but it's a good start:
2 Cups powered milk, or milk substitute
1-1/4 Cups cornstarch
Add 1 teaspoon of Ranch Dressing powder to sauce for recipes such as Tuna Helper.
Add a tiny piece of beef boullion and a small can of drained mushrooms to sauce for Cream of Mushroom Soup.
I agree with Olive Oyl. Why would you want a soup to taste like a canned soup? YUK! Take any potato soup recipe or chowder recipe and add a puree of whatever you want broccoli, mushroom, roasted onion, carrot, corn. The list goes on. Also add some larger pieces or whole if it peas, corn, etc. I haven't used a canned soup in years. I mean years. I've made my own since I've been married over 40 years. It's easy if you have a crock pot. Don't even have to worry about it. Take a look on google to find a good basic soup first.
Although Susan is coming across as annoyingly smug, unnecessarily condescending and as a result - unhelpful, I will agree with her overall message. You may find that after you start incorporating a fix like the helpful comment that Patricia Eldridge offered, that it tastes better than the canned version!
Simply make a white sauce then add chicken or beef bullion for flavoring. In case you don't know, a white sauce is made from milk, butter & flour(look online for exact directions. Basically you melt the butter then add the flour to it, then add the milk a bit at a time.). I believe you could also use any gravy recipe too.
My Mom use to make those discussing Campbell soup recipes when I was growing up. Yuck! (sorry Mom!) She'd put the cream soup over chicken legs & rice. Oh! How I hated it!
Hubby has CHF. We cant used salt. Its hard! More recipes need to be salt absence friendly.
I make a quickie version of cream soups if I need a can for making a recipe. I use about 1/4 c. water with a bouillon cube, 1 cup milk, garlic salt or powder (dash), salt & pepper to taste, and about 2 tbs of cornstarch(dissolve in a slight amount of hot water.
There are so many cooking sites available that you should be able to just look up what you want - they all taste better than anything out of a can. If there are things you shouldn't have, just leave them out, or look up Substitutes in Recipes on Google, and they'll tell you what you can use instead. I never use canned soup, they're so full of preservatives and other muck. Play on Google a bit for recipe sites, and you'll get some really good ideas.
Leah from Down Under.
I printed out a great one from this site. It was dated around 2007, but I can't find it now. However, this is it.
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
Put it in a blender "briefly" until smooth and pour into saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken. Take off heat at first bubble of a boil.
Makes 4-6 servings
Variations
Cream of Cauliflower: To basic mixture add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen cauliflower cooked per box directions until tender and well drained, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 3 mashed chicken bouillon cubes, pinch dry parsley and a dash of garlic salt. Stir over lowest possible heat until piping hot. Serve at once.
Cream of Celery Soup: Do just as cauliflower soup, but substitute 1 cup cooked, drained, diced celery instead. Add a pinch of celery seed and a pinch dry, canned parsley flakes.
Cream of Broccoli Soup: Add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen, chopped broccoli cooked per box directions and drained. Continue as previous recipes.
Cream of Potato Soup: Add 3 cans (1lb. ea) sliced, drained potatoes, 1/2 bottle (10 oz.) Hormel real bacon pieces and a dash of liquid smoke. Continue as previous recipes.
Cream of Mushroom Soup: To warm basic recipe, add 1 can (8oz.) drained, sliced mushrooms, dash onion salt and black pepper to taste. Heat through
Now I would use fresh veggies or potatoes. Like I said I copied this from this site and I retyped (Sandra's) recipes. For the Celery soup. I added the finely sliced celery right in the soup pot and cooked it all together and I didn't have the celery seed. Oh, so good!
I am going to assume you have as many allergies to additives as I do. Perhaps also milks & white flours? When I make, per se cream of chicken soup, I trim or peel off the fat, leave on the bones, add a little water to the saucepan & a little salt (if you prefer).
Sometimes I use a little chicken bouillon beads instead of salt to give a little boost to the flavor. Simmer until so tender it falls off the bone. Remove bones & dice chicken fine. Reduce broth to make more flavorful. Return meat to the saucepan. Then I'll add a touch of homemade onion powder & homemade celery powder or just use the real thing chopped fine & added to the saucepan in the beginning.
You can whirl the entire soup in the processor if you prefer--I usually only whirl half of it as I like mine kinda chunky. Thicken with a little cornstarch dissolved in a little water, or you can use half cornstarch & half flour if the flour doesn't give you any problems.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I now have plenty of choices.
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