Homemade Cream of… Soup

If there was ever a foodie weekend, the past 3 days were it.

I’ve got hundreds – literally – of pictures to go through.

Two nights of my weekend were spent with famous chefs; people I’ve watched on tv, drooled over their food, and hoped that one day I could meet.

Dreams came true.

Carpaccio and bacon ice cream were eaten.

Wine was drunk (drank?).

I spent a total of 11 hours with 300 other foodies, an army of chefs, sous chefs, and wait staff, and I’m sad that it’s over.

After weekends like this, I’m 183% sure that I missed the boat on what I should be doing with my life.

And after meals like this, all of my food seems boring for a few weeks.

Like this soup.

I was so excited when I made it a few weeks ago to be the base of a revamped version of my Mammaw’s casserole, but now? It can’t compare to the local smoked trout salad or pea and mint crostini.

But forget the curried grape soup and oyster shooters.

You’re making homemade cream of…soup!

Next time you’re pushing your grocery cart down the canned food isle, you can pass right by Campbell’s because you can make your own creamy soups at home with just a few ingredients, about 30 minutes, and you’ll know exactly what you’re eating.

No need for pop top cans anymore. You can be your own Betty Crocker and still have dinner on the table at a reasonable time.

Let’s do it!

2012 is the year for homemade. Bread, soup, pizza, coffee creamers – pick your poison and make it happen.

Cream of Vegetable Soup, based on my Cream of Mushroom Soup

This version is fairly simple in flavor, but it makes a great base for almost any casserole or creamy soup. Feel free to change up the vegetables (celery, mushroom, carrot, etc) and add your favorite seasonings to make it your own.

Makes 1.5 – 2 cups of soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 can (12 oz) fat free evaporated milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. In large pot, heat 2 tablespoon of oil.
  2. Add onions and cook 4-5 minutes until they’re softened.
  3. Stir in the flour, whisking until the mixture is cooked together, light, and the flour mixture is sticking to the chopped onions.
  4. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth.
  5. Bring to a simmer, then put on low heat and let cook, stirring occasionally until thickened.
  6. Stir in salt and pepper before serving.

21 comments

  1. Your weekend sounds incredible, I can’t wait to see the pictures. I know how you feel on the comedown after an amazing meal but I often think that the best remedy is getting back in the kitchen and using the experience to push your further. I love the concept of 2012 being the year of the homemade!

  2. Sounds like a fabulous weekend!! I totally want to make this. I never purchase cans of cream of… Because they scare me!!

  3. Sounds like you had an awesome weekend, Brandi! I’m so jealous of all the delicious food you got to try. I must get my hands on some bacon ice cream! :-P

  4. Okay, I have a question: do you think you could can these soups and then have them on hand? Would the milk mixture break? I bet you could. Then you could use your home canned beans and your home canned soup and make green bean casserole! (Not that you would…) Thanks Brandi, this looks good and creamy without all that added food starch and mystery ingredients.

    • You know, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve never tried actually canning a creamy soup, but it would be worth looking up! I have the Ball book of canning (and a few others) and plan to look through them soon to see if they have any creamy soup recipes for actual canning.

  5. What a weekend! And what a beautiful soup. It takes true talent to make soup look stunning…and you nailed it! Thank you for sharing. I always hesitate to buy cream soup at the store. I want to try making it now!

  6. Wow. I’ve never even THOUGHT to make Cream of soup before, and this actually sounds pretty simple to do!

    Thanks for sharing this. I’ll definitely be giving this a shot sometime in the near future!

  7. oh, this is so cool/brilliant! I never knew you could make your own cream of…whatever’s..thanks for the lesson! haha you’ve enlightened me!

  8. Sounds like you had an incredible weekend and I can’t wait to see pics! And your recipes are never boring! What a great idea to make your own homemade cream of soup recipe! I often bypass recipes that use it because I don’t like all the junk that they put in– this is perfect!

  9. looks delicious Brandi! So warm and comforting. i also didn’t know you could make homemade cream of.. anything! :)

  10. I missed where you went this weekend, but it sounds like you had fun! The soup sounds delicious!

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  12. I only make my own homemade versions now…they taste so much better! And no worries about MSG. :-)
    I like to make big batches all at once and store them in individual can servings in the freezer…then I always have them on hand. :-)
    PS – You always have awesome photos. I need lessons.

    • aw, thanks Stacy!

      So you freeze them? And the texture is still good after they’ve been frozen? I was wondering about it.

      • Yep! I just thaw them and stir them right into whatever I’m making. :-)
        I think I’ve had maybe one batch that looked a bit curdled (not sure what caused it in only a certain batch) but when I stirred it into the casserole, you couldn’t tell and it tasted just fine. :-)

  13. Ohhhhh, this looks easy. Canned soup kinda grosses me out. Nice to know there is a homemade alternative

  14. I make cream of …soup, adding pureed veggies and seasonings, all the time and freeze it in individual portions. This is the only kind of soup my husband likes to take in his lunch. He reheats it in the microwave and it works just fine!

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