Saturday, March 2, 2013

How to Make Cream of "Something" Mix and Green Bean Chicken Casserole

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I first saw this mix for Cream of "Something" on Pinterest here.  Many of the recipes I make for my family start with a large can of condensed something soup, but they are always so high in calories and everything that I either don't make them anymore or I don't have any when I do and watch everyone else eat my yummy stuff.

I usually use about 2/3 of a large 26 oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup, then I add tons of milk to thin it out.  Both of those together add up to LOTS of calories!!!  The base for a dish I used to make would carry about 3 times the number of calories per serving as this new mix I found.  Oh!  Also, it is way cheaper to make this mix than it is to buy cans of soup, so it's very economical.

Here's how to make Cream of "Something" Soup Mix.  If you use the quantities I give you, it will just fill up a pint mason jar.  I taped the recipe to the jar so I wouldn't have to hunt for it when I run out.

Ingredients:
2 c non-fat dried milk powder
1 1/2 c cornstarch
1/2 c bouillon (you can use any kind you want.  If you buy the cubes, you can pulverize them in the food processor or blender.  I used 1 jar of Wyler's chicken bouillon cubes.)
1/2 c dried minced onions
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp either parsley or thyme
2 tsp pepper

Mix it all together.  When you need it, to make a single serving you mix 1/3 c of the magic mix with 1 1/4 c of water.  Cook over a medium high heat until it thickens. 

Easy!

When I tasted the soup all mixed up and cooked, it tasted way too peppery for me.  You can cut the amount of pepper in the recipe to 1 tsp if you want.  But once I got it in the final dish, it tasted perfect.  So it's your call.

Now here's a recipe to use it in (that's right...a double bonus recipe day. lol)...

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

2/3 c Cream of "Something" Soup Mix
2 1/2 c water
4 cans green beans
24 oz chicken, cooked, cubed into bite sized pieces
6 oz fried onions (like French's)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F
2.  Mix water and soup mix together into a small pot and cook over medium heat until thickened.
3.  Drain green beans.
4.  Mix cooked soup, cooked chicken pieces, green beans and fried onions together in a bowl until it's well mixed.
5.  Pour into a casserole pan or a 9x13 cake pan that has been lightly sprayed with pan spray.
6.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until everything is heated through and soup is bubbly.

If it's a little too thick, you can always add a little bit of milk to thin it out a little.
This has always been a favorite in my house.  I've been making it for many, many years.  One day at the holidays I was thinking, why do we only have green bean casserole at Thanksgiving?  So I added chicken to the recipe and made it a regular dinner in our rotating menu.

When I made it with the Cream of "Something" Soup Mix, nobody hesitated for one second and ate it up like crazy.  They all loved it just as much.  Yes, it tasted a little bit different, but it was better in my opinion.  Because it's made with cornstarch, it is not a solid color like regular cream soup.  It is more translucent.  It's also not as thick, but that's just me taking out all those calories! :)

Here are the nutritional stats for 1/6 of casserole:  420 calories, 14g fat, 96mg cholesterol, 1643mg sodium, 292.7mg potassium, 27g carbs, 4.7g fiber, 39.5g protein.  9 Points Plus.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!!!

Enjoy!
Lisa
happyfairylove@live.com





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