Homemade Cream of 'Something'

How to Make Your Own Cream of 'Something' Soup

I am really excited about this post! The Mister doesn't like mushrooms or celery so I have never attempted to use either one of those in my meals and eventually just phased out all cream of something soups altogether. Since starting my blog, cream of something soup has been mentioned on more than one occasion as something that needed to be replaced. SO I decided obviously I'm in the dark about all this cream of something soup talk and I am missing out on something HUGE!

I was going to post about this yesterday and upon researching some recipes I realized I could totally make this using a method I have been using for years. This turned into the need for some kitchen research ... create and compare, which meant I needed more time than what was available yesterday. (Sure wish you could buy that from a store; oh, don't we all!)

The base of my cream of something soup is just a roux with milk added. Sounds fancy and French (which it is, French - not fancy!) and I use this method in so many things: sausage gravy for biscuits, loaded potato soup, any potato soup for that matter, cheese sauce, think of any thick rich sauce and I start with this! If you need something thicker after you have already started, you can make your roux, add a little of whatever needs to be thicker to it, and then pour it back in your pot ... this doesn't work as well but it is better than starting over. :)

my version with butter and flour

Homemade Cream of 'Something' Soup 

2 1/2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of flour

1 1/4 cup of milk

1/2 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules or 1 1/2 cubes crushed (could substitute any flavor) 

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon onion powdered

pinch of thyme 

pinch of basil

pinch of pepper

Combine all dry ingredients except for flour in a small bowl. Have your milk measured and ready. Melt butter on high until it is bubbly. Add flour and whisk constantly for about 1 minute. Add milk and continue to whisk until mixed. Add dry ingredients and mix. Bring back to a boil and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir until the bubbles subside.

Of course from this stage you could add some sauteed mushrooms or cooked broccoli or celery and you'd be set! If you would want to use this just as a soup, add an additional cup of milk and cook for a few more minutes.

other version with dry milk and cornstarch

My inspiration for the seasonings came from "Taste of Home's" version that involved dry milk and cornstarch. I have nothing against dry milk in my recipes but if I can make something similar without it that would be my first choice. Additionally, I am trying to eliminate items from my grocery list so if dry milk is not a regularly used item I wouldn't want to buy it just for this! In order to have the best comparison, I made one batch of their version and one batch of my version. Both are exactly the same consistency and took the same about of time (bonus!), but since I am a butter lover (It's out, you have heard it straight from the source here!) I found my version much more flavorful. I am really excited to branch out with this recipe and see what I can make with it! The possibilities are truly endless!

I would love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Today's Questions: Are you a sour cream lover?