Meatless Friday: Savory Cream of Mushroom Soup

After experimenting with making creamed soups (which are by far my favorite kind of soup to eat!), I developed this recipe for cream of mushroom soup. It's also exactly the same base as I use for cream of chicken soup, so you can simply substitute chicken for the mushrooms if you'd like. I love packing the leftovers in soup crocks and having them at-the-ready for lunch on a cold winter's day.

The soup goes really well with a nice, crusty French loaf. It doesn't hurt that, thanks to using 1% milk and fat-free evaporated milk, it comes in under 400 calories per serving (crusty French bread not included in that calorie count).

Copyright 2017 Christine Johnson. All rights reserved.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces of fat-free evaporated milk
• 2 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth - chicken broth does not break your Friday abstinence, though)
• 4 cups of milk, warmed
• 2 teaspoons of table salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (about 10-12 shakes)
• 1 pound of sliced mushrooms

Preparation

1. Melt butter over medium heat, whisk in flour for roux.
2. Add evaporated milk, then broth.
3. Whisk until smooth, add milk, continuing to whisk.
4. Add spices and whisk some more.
5. Lower heat, stir in mushrooms. Cover with slight vent and simmer about 30 minutes minimum, occasionally stirring to keep it from burning on the bottom. (Especially important for electric stoves!)

If you'd like cream of chicken soup, simply add 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast (cubed) where you'd add the mushrooms.

What's cooking? Find all our Meatless Friday featured recipes here.

Copyright 2017 Christine Johnson