Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Mix

Makes 3 "Cans"

1 cup nonfat instant dry milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup chicken bouillon (or finely ground bouillon cubes)

4 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions: 

For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream of chicken soup: Whisk 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until boiling and thickened.

You know those recipes that call for "cream of something" soup? Here's a healthier, cheaper version and you can make sure to always keep a canister of the dry mix in your cabinet so you never run out. It's so convenient and tastes SO much better than the canned stuff. I never buy canned soups anymore for cooking, I just make my own. I use cream of chicken the most, so that's what I always have on hand, however I've also used different seasonings to create different creamed soups. You can use chopped dehydrated mushrooms to make cream of mushroom, celery seasoning to make cream of celery, mix in some shredded cheese while cooking to make cheddar cheese soup, etc. There are a number of varieties you can make and all of them are very inexpensive to make--even cheaper than the canned stuff! And it tastes better and is so much better for you, so why not do it? It's a tiny bit more of a hassle than it is to open up a can of something to dump in the crockpot, but it literally takes 5 minutes to cook up in my tiny little saucepan on the stovetop and the flavor is so much better so it's completely worth the extra time and effort. I used my Brother label maker to put the measurements on the lid so I always know how much to measure out to make a can and can easily double or triple it if need be. If you're a couponer, you know you can get coupons on the dry milk, bouillon and cornstarch pretty regularly and these items frequently go on sale also. If you combine the coupons with the sale, you're only spending about .06 a can as opposed to 1.00 a can on average and again, it tastes so much better! Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be persuaded--I was! :)