Make It Yourself Monday- Cream Soup

So my friend Anjanette over at Eat From Your Pantry is hosting a new weekly carnival! The focus is on making something that is commonly bought pre-made. I've been meaning to post about making homemade condensed cream of _____ soup, so this is the perfect occasion!

I make lots of casseroles, and cream of chicken or mushroom soup is a large part of many casseroles. Although I can usually get it pretty cheap, the canned stuff has so much sodium along with preservatives and other icky stuff in it. While I still use it when I can get it for free or close to free, I'm moving towards filling my kiddos with more real food, and less chemicals, so I tried my hand at this recently. It turned out great, and would be a good recipe even for someone who simply realized they were out of the condensed soup needed for a recipe. I found a couple of examples online, and experimented until I got the recipe as I liked it.

Homemade Cream of _____ Soup (makes the equivalent of 2 cans)

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 t onion powder

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/8 t paprika

2 cups milk or chicken broth

Heat butter and oil then add flour and spices. Cook to make a roux. Add milk (or chicken broth) and stir until thickened. You may add 1/4 or so of cooked mushrooms, celery or shredded chicken (etc.), if desired.