White Sauce" substitute for Cream of _____ Soup
Why I Love This Recipe
The part of me that loves to cook from scratch (though I'm a little cheap and lazy) dislikes the idea of cooking with cans of soup. It's not any cheaper and only barely faster. So here's a substitute that's cost-efficient and easy. I learned this from a great cookbook called "The More With Less Cookbook."
Just make a 5-minute white sauce with a few ingredients and a wire whisk. You can change the flavor infinitely with different herbs, seasonings, cheeses, broths and vegetables.
Ingredients You'll Need
Basic White Sauce
For a thin sauce, use the first #amount, for Medium the 2nd, for Medium-Thick the third, and for Thick the 4th. Does that make sense?
Melt in heavy saucepan:
butter/margarine 1T for thin 2T for medium 3T for medium-thick 4T for thick
Directions
Blend in, cooking and stirring until bubby:
flour 1T for thin 2T for medium 3T for medium-thick 4T for thick
salt 1/4 tsp (no matter what consistency)
Using a wire whisk to prevent lumps, stir in
milk, stock, or combination 1 cup (no matter which consistency)
Cook just until smooth and thickened. Makes slightly over 1 cup. Medium-thick compares to undiluted condensed soups and makes approx. the same amount contained in one 10-oz can.
Options:
Cheese Sauce: add 1/2 c. grated nippy cheese and 1/4 tsp dry mustard
Tomato Sauce: use tomato juice as liquid, add dash each of garlic salt, onion salt, basil, oregano
Mushroom sauce: saute 1/4 c. chopped mushrooms and 1 T finely chopped onion in margarine before adding flour
Chicken Sauce: use chicken broth or buillon as half the liquid. Add 1/4 t. poultry seasoning or sage and diced cooked chicken, if available.
Vary flavor with the following (or whatever you can think of):
curry powder
garlic, onion, or celery salt
sauted onions, celery or mushrooms
grated nutmeg
lemon juice
worcestershire sauce
chili powder
chopped or blended vegetables
chopped parsley
chopped chives
chopped hard-cooked eggs
Sky's the limit!
