First I'm going to tell you that cooking with cream-of-anything-soup makes me slightly uncomfortable. I don't mean anything by that, but it's true nevertheless. And in my desire to eat sour cream enchiladas and chicken bakes with sauce, I have devised an adequate solution: white sauce as a substitute. Here's the recipe I use from The Joy of Cooking cookbook:
Melt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat: 2 tablespoons butter.
Whisk in until smooth (about 1.5 minutes): 2 tablespoons all purpose flour.
Remove the pan from head and slowly whisk in: 1 cup of milk.
Return the pan to heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook 1 to 2 minutes.
(I always add salt and pepper and usually a couple of other spices or herbs. Tonight it was just some thyme, but I sometimes use paprika.)
It's so easy I don't even mess it up usually, and it was perfect in enchiladas and tonight I used it in a sausage/rice bake. I haven't tried it yet in the crockpot (the other great cream-of- cooking giant) but if I do (and if you'd care to know) I'll let you know how it goes. Plus, I love saying bechemel.
well, i agree about not really enjoying using cream of whatever simply because it seems so unsophisticated. or unhealthy? i dont know. like, i like using basic ingrdients thrown together into something delicious and the can of cream of whatever makes it too mysterious.... but i must admit that i have relied on those cans a time or two so this is a welcome alternative! i guess the only other reason i would continue to use the mysterious cans is lack of time unfortunately. convenience wins sometimes. sad but true.
ReplyDeletei know what you mean with time, but really, this takes about four minutes. seriously.
ReplyDeletemar.vel.ous. And I suppose if you really desired the chicken flavor you could always add a little chicken boullion (the natural kind, of course). Good tip, Mel.
ReplyDeleteYum! I too have said goodbye to the canned cream of _______ soups and started making my own. The recipe I use is pretty similar and yes, it is quick too. Thanks for the tip!
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