I have recipes that I use in which I used canned soups. The soup prices have skyrocketed. One of the soups is Campbell's French Onion which went from about $1.09 to $1.49. I refuse to pay those prices. Has anyone replaced canned soups with spices or other things in recipes?
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I have not changed them out - but I have gone to swapping in the store brand where possible. In most cases the taste has been the same.
For other soups that don't come in store brand - like the cream of "whatever" that Campbells has, I usually stock up when I can hit a sale AND a coupon.
Whenever we have a chicken (fairly often) or turkey ettc.
I boil the carcass for several hours along with any leftover veggies in the fridge. Celert stumps, broccolli stems, ends of onions, etc.
Chill the broth and then seperate the meat bones and spent veggies.
What is left is a great broth that I freeze in old cottage cheese containers.
When I need broth or soup.... I go to the freezer!
To replace the onion soup just use the above broth only stew again with several onions (include the skins) That is what restaurants do.
Don't know where you are, but if you are near a WINCO
store they have onion soup mix in bins, also dried onions and great beef and chicken bases in bins which are worth their weight in gold for flavor. One Tablespoon of beef
You can get similar products at wholesale cash and carry
sources for restaurants in most cities. Larger amounts but last a long time. The most important ingredients to sustitute for canned soups is the base. Onions, etc
can be added fresh...
In place of the cream soups you can use a heavy white sauce equal to the amount of soup. This is what we used before the convenience of cream soups.
For Tuna casseroles etc. you will find they are tastier made with white sauce..
Here is a recipe for a mix that can substitute for canned soups:
Cream-of-Whatever Soup Mix
2c powdered nonfat milk 3/4 c cornstarch 1/4 c instant chicken bouillon
To substitute for one can of condensed soup: Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to casseroles as you would the canned product.
Makes equivalent of 9 cans of soup.
Variations
Mushroom Soup: Add 1/2 C finely chopped mushrooms
Celery Soup: Add 1/2 C minced celery
Potato Soup: Add 1 C diced potatoes, cooked
Vegetable Soup: Add 3/4 C mixed vegetables, cooked
Broccoli Soup: Add 1 C chopped broccoli, cooked
Asparagus Soup: Add 1 C chopped asparagus, cooked
I use Swanson Chicken broth for everything. They sell them now in larger sized boxes, it stores well in the fridge for numberous uses. You can creame it up, with a roux, or create a french onion soup as you mentioned with their beef broth, sautee sweet onions, add some sherry, worchester sauce, top with a nice bagette and cheese.
Thanks to all for your suggestions. You ladies (and possibly guys) are the greatest. So simple but I would never have thought of mixing dried onions with a beef base. That hint alone took care of one of my favorite recipes. I don't enjoy cooking all that much; it has to be quick and simple with few ingredients or I won't fool with it. Good thing I don't have a husband. I love Thriftyfun!
Here's a basc mix I keep on hand:
Canned cream soups are often used as a sauce in casseroles. A healthier substitute is this mix, which can be the basis for soups as well.
Healthy Casserole Sauce Mix
(Use instead of canned cream soup)
[Mix makes the equivalent of 9 cans condensed soup.]
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup corn starch or clear gel
1/4 cup instant reduced sodium chicken or beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
Combine ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
To prepare as a substitute for one can of condensed cream soup in recipes, stir together 1/3 cup dry mix and 1 1/4 cup water in a sauce pan or microwave cooking dish. Cook and stir until thickened. Chopped celery, or mushroom pieces or bits of broccoli can be added for soups.
A batch of the mix with a recipe tag as the gift card would be a wonderful holiday or hostess gift.
The last time I bought soups at Aldis, I believe the cream soups were .47 cents and the dry onion soup mixes were .49 cents for a box of two. Not as cheap as homemade, but still cheaper than name brand.
That's what my parents do as well...and they have two different brands which are both inexpensive. One of them tends to have a lot of sodium, but the other is a lot healthier and tastes great in recipes (and I am picky!)
If you have a Target store. They have Campbell soup in their "Market " aisle. So far I have been able to get soup for 64 cents to $1.27 a can. My daughter said she was desperate for a can of Bean & Bacon soup to make tacos for her granddaughter and paid $1.89 for ONE can. I got it for 99 cents at Target...the next time it was $1.02 So just check out the prices and only buy it on sale.About twice a year Rite-aid & Longs drug store has a sale on soup,
2/$1.00. That's when I stock up for the year. Wal-Mart had tomato & chicken noodle last week for 64 cents a can. Watch the ads.GG Vi
To make onion soup mix: is simple is just dried onion beef granuales and a pinch of celery seed - combine this and ad to plain yogurt and you have onion soup dip
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