Do you use Cream of XXX soups?

[Tap]

Do you use Cream of Mushroom, celery or chicken soup for recipes? I have had things prepared with these, and it seems like when I am looking for recipes online there are often "a can of cream of xxx soup" in the ingredients. I just move on to another one since it really isn't to my liking. I always wondered how many people really use this as a base for recipes.

 

So, I thought I would post a poll :D with 2 parts.

 

One part is do you make it homemade or dry/canned.

 

The second part is how often.

[TCoppock]

When I was first learning to cook I used the can stuff AT LEAST once a week. However, now that I am more experienced and better educated on the nutritional content of food I MAYBE use it once a month. I usually will make a homemade version. I must admit I do LOVE the unhealthy green bean casserole made with the soup.

[Perry]

My kids love their Nana's green bean casserole (the famous recipe on the can of fried onions), so I grudgingly make it for them on Thanksgiving. I can't stand the stuff.

[Liza Q]

My kids love their Nana's green bean casserole (the famous recipe on the can of fried onions), so I grudgingly make it for them on Thanksgiving. I can't stand the stuff.

 

This is why I chose "once a year or so". Then again, I LOVE this stuff! My husband asked me to make it about five years ago and my older girls and I love it now!!

 

I have also made Tuna Casserole and Chicken A La King with the canned soup a few times in my life but it has been years....

[Laura Corin]

I clicked on 'never', but I do make recipes that include a roux to make a white sauce, so that's the equivalent. It's butter/oil, flour and milk/stock/wine, plus whatever seasonings you want to add. Last night it was a chicken and celery pasta sauce:

 

Saute cubes of chicken breast and a few cubes of bacon in a little olive oil until the surface of the chicken is white but the inside is not yet cooked. Remove to a plate. In the same pan saute celery and onion. When it starts to soften, turn the heat low and stir in some flour. Stir over a low heat for a minute or two, then switch off the heat. Add milk/chicken stock/wine then reheat, adding more liquid if necessary until the texture is correct. Add the chicken mix back in and cook a few minutes until done. Serve with pasta and a green veg.

 

Laura

[dirty ethel rackham]

Early in our marriage, we used it a lot. After we started my son on solids, we transitioned away from processed foods because we made our own baby food. We found out that he was allergic to milk so we had to re-learn how cook before we could feed him table food. That meant no milk products in our most of our foods. Now he is not so bad, but we just don't put milk products in most of our foods (plus dh hates cheese.)

[mom2denj]

I voted 5 - 12 times a year. I really like cream of mushroom and I use it for different recipes.

[Carrie12345]

I voted once/year (broccoli casserole for Thanksgiving), but I didn't even make it this past year.

 

I did use cream of chicken a long time ago to try a crock pot chicken recipe, but the whole thing was so unhealthy (even if it was kind of yummy) that I never made it again.

 

There's nothing else in my repertoire that calls for cream of anything.

[amydavis]

I voted for 2-4 times per year. I make the famous green bean casserole at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I know that it is so unhealthy, but I admit I use it at holidays.

[athena1277]

I used to use the canned soup. Now I make a homemade version that is GF so dd can eat whatever i am making. The homemade is so much yummier!

[Snickerdoodle]

Never, because of allergies.

[Harriet Vane]

I am completely grossed out by the ingredients in canned cream soups. I make my own cream soup or white sauce instead.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

yes, but never in the crock pot.

[angela in ohio]

I use it probably once a month, but I make my own. There are only two recipes I regularly make that use a 'cream soup' base: one is a chicken noodle casserole that requires a cream of cheddar soup base, the other is a type of chicken pot pie that uses cream of chicken.

[Aubrey]

Since dh has started eating gfcf, I'd say I use cream of a couple of times a mo. Used to be weekly, I'm sure.

 

I selected "both" since we're sort-of in a transitional state. I've probably only bought a handful of cans in the past yr, but since I have still bought them, well...

 

Another yr from now, though, & I bet I'll be homemade only.

[aggieamy]

I used to use it a lot but now very rarely. The only time I use it is when I make my grandmother's tuna noodle casserole recipe. It just wouldn't be exactly like hers if I skipped it so in that instance my fond memories of her outweigh what I know about good nutrition.

[Heather in AL]

I use canned a few times a year (the afore mentioned Green Bean Casserole, for one!).

 

I actually like the GBC (made at Thanksgiving and Christmas), and I have a couple of other recipes that call for it, but I don't like the taste in the other dishes.

 

My question is how do you make your own, and is it difficult?

[Orthodox6]

Bleeecch ! Won't knowingly swallow any such stuff.

[SweetPea]

How do I make my own cream soups? There are a few dishes I make that call for cream of mushroom or cream of celery. Would love to make it myself!

 

Can someone please post a recipe?

 

Thanks,

Anne

[songbirdie]

I only use homemade. There is disodium inosinate or disodium guyanylate in all of them - these are chemicals that need MSG (monosodium glutamate or free glatamic acid) to do their job. So usually any food product that includes these ingredients have MSG hidden in them in the form of yeast extract or some other autolyzed protein product. VERY unhealthy.

[MyLittleWonders]

If I use any, it's only homemade; we have allergies here (gluten, dairy for dh, MSG and all artificial ingredients). And, since dh is pretty much dairy free, and I'm finding that I have a hard time with cow's milk/cream, my making of any cream sauces/soups is very, very rare. So, most the time, I skip any recipes with cream of anything in it.

[angela in ohio]

(1.) It is very easy to make, and (2.) I can't imagine refusing to eat it, because...

 

It's flour, butter, and milk, folks. Then you add whatever you need to make your particular flavor: chicken, mushrooms, whatever...

 

The best source for cream soup recipes is the More With Less cookbook. No frugal cook should be without it.

[MyThreeSons]

I use my crock pot and/or make lots of casseroles. I use the cream of XXX soups at least once a week when I make such meals. No flames please!

[samba2nite]

While, I would like to say I always prefer my own homemade stuff there are time when....I just DO NOT HAVE THEM TIME... so I cheat and use items like cream of chicken soup to combine with other items to make my white/green chili enchilladas... There are some things that work with premade soups...and others I would never dream of using them.... It all depends... I am not a purist...despite how I would love to be...

[Mrs Mungo]

I clicked on 'never', but I do make recipes that include a roux to make a white sauce, so that's the equivalent. It's butter/oil, flour and milk/stock/wine, plus whatever seasonings you want to add.

 

Ditto.

[SilverMoon]

I clicked on 'never', but I do make recipes that include a roux to make a white sauce, so that's the equivalent. It's butter/oil, flour and milk/stock/wine, plus whatever seasonings you want to add.

 

What she said. :001_smile: To be honest one of my kids is probably intolerant or allergic to nearly every cream of ___ soup out there, but I didn't like them before we had to change up our diet for our kids.

[happi duck]

canned, once a year....green bean casserole on Thanksgiving...just like the pilgrims!

[FairProspects]

Can someone explain why they are considered so bad? Is it the sodium?

 

I have been actively avoiding the "high-risk" problems with foods for years - nitrates/nitrates, margarine, honey, microwave popcorn, canned tomatoes, and plastic waterbottles. We never microwave plastic and we always buy organic beef as well as the "dirty dozen" but I have never even heard of cream of soups being a problem until last week. :confused:

[Firefly]

We never use them. If a recipe called for some, I'd make up a roux as others mentioned.

[mommybee]

Never, because of allergies.

 

Me too...I had to learn how to just make a basic white sauce for anything creamy.

[Orthodox6]

(1.) It is very easy to make, and (2.) I can't imagine refusing to eat it, because...

 

It's flour, butter, and milk, folks. Then you add whatever you need to make your particular flavor: chicken, mushrooms, whatever...

 

 

 

For people who do not care for fatty, creamy sauces which camouflauge the smothered food, that ingredient list explains our distaste ! :)

 

I genuinely don't like white sauces, "Alfredo-style", and similar foods.

 

The canned versions generally include fillers and flavour-enhancers spurned by many cooks. Home-made versions control the content and don't sound difficult to make.

[Spy Car]

For people who do not care for fatty, creamy sauces which camouflauge the smothered food, that ingredient list explains our distaste ! :)

 

I genuinely don't like white sauces, "Alfredo-style", and similar foods.

 

The canned versions generally include fillers and flavour-enhancers spurned by many cooks. Home-made versions control the content and don't sound difficult to make.

 

:iagree:

 

Sums up my feelings pretty well. I'm not big on white sauce or roux-based sauces either, as they mask the clean taste of fresh foods.

 

Bill

[Audrey]

Never the canned thing, but homemade maybe once a month. The canned cream of crap is just terrible -- so full of sodium and other unmentionable chemicals. You'd be doing your family's heart health a favour to stop using the canned. It is my goal to get people to stop using the canned stuff. So far I have quite a few converts. I would explain more, but the board does have a "no proselytizing" policy. :D

Edited April 12, 2010 by Audrey

[HollyDay]

Dd is allergic to dairy. Dh does not like heavily "sauced" recipes where the cream sauce just "blands" things out.

[Pretty in Pink]

I selected homemade and 2-4 times/year. I never, ever buy the stuff in a can, but once in a great while I make a casserole that calls for it and then I just make it. We're not big casserole eaters though.

[Daisy]

I voted never. I don't even have recipes that call for it. Shiver. We prefer food closer to its original condition. ;-)

 

But a white sauce should make a fine substitute.

[Night Elf]

I use my crock pot and/or make lots of casseroles. I use the cream of XXX soups at least once a week when I make such meals. No flames please!

 

:iagree: I thought I was about to be the first one to own up to this. I grew up on Campbell's soups served over rice. Now I use soup for cooking only, both in the crockpot and in the oven. No shudders, shivers, gasps of horror, or hives from me!

[melissel]

Maaaaaybe once a year, and if I do use the canned stuff, it's all natural or organic. Mostly, if I find a recipe I want to try and it calls for "a can of...," I keep looking until I find another recipe that doesn't.

[stripe]

I'm not big on white sauce or roux-based sauces either, as they mask the clean taste of fresh food.

With all due respect, you have advocated for various fish sauces and curry pastes, which (in my opinion) "mask the clean taste of fresh foods" much more than a white sauce! Since I don't worry about purity of flavors, I don't worry about this much.

 

I make my own white / cheese sauces. I like them on pasta. I can't think of any other dish I use them in. I never buy cream of -- soups. I think it's a generational thing in my family; my grandma loves them and uses them as the base for all her casseroles.

[angela in ohio]

For people who do not care for fatty, creamy sauces which camouflauge the smothered food, that ingredient list explains our distaste ! :)

 

I genuinely don't like white sauces, "Alfredo-style", and similar foods.

 

 

I can see that. I don't have anything against a little cream sauce in a good dish. Since it starts with real food, I don't see it as a toxin or anything, but I can understand not liking it.

 

A little creamy sauce or a bit of cheese is sometimes the way I get my ex-country-boy dh to eat up veggies, so it works here. :D

[MyThreeSons]

:iagree: I thought I was about to be the first one to own up to this. I grew up on Campbell's soups served over rice. Now I use soup for cooking only, both in the crockpot and in the oven. No shudders, shivers, gasps of horror, or hives from me!

 

Thank you for not making me feel so alone! I do enough beating myself up without adding this to the list.

[Nestof3]

I used to, but now I just use some sour cream, lowfat milk and flour if I need to thicken something.

[Spy Car]

With all due respect, you have advocated for various fish sauces and curry pastes, which (in my opinion) "mask the clean taste of fresh foods" much more than a white sauce! Since I don't worry about purity of flavors, I don't worry about this much.

 

I make my own white / cheese sauces. I like them on pasta. I can't think of any other dish I use them in. I never buy cream of -- soups. I think it's a generational thing in my family; my grandma loves them and uses them as the base for all her casseroles.

 

Fish sauce gets used in droplets. It is a flavor enhancer, not a flavor obliterator.

 

Curries, I will grant you give food dishes a taste (or tastes) of their own. But these are also fresh clean tastes as far as I'm concerned. Fresh toasted spices, chilies, ginger, curry leaf, etc. are all fresh, delicious, and flavor filled.

 

Where white sauce is blubbery, bland, and not flavorful.

 

Bill

Edited April 13, 2010 by Spy Car

[Crimson Wife]

Every once in a while I get a hankering for Beef Stroganoff like my mom used to make. I don't have a weight problem, a family history of heart disease, or food allergies so I don't feel guilty about the occasional indulgence.

[stripe]

Fish sauce gets used in droplets. It is a flavor enhancer, not a flavor obliterator.

 

Curries, I will grant you give food dishes a taste (or tastes) of their own. But these are also fresh clean tastes as far as I'm concerned. Fresh toasted spices, chilies, ginger, curry leaf, etc. are all fresh, delicious, and flavor filled.

 

Where white sauce is blubbery, bland, and not flavorful.

 

In my opinion, milk and butter are legitimate flavors, and my white sauce (again, mostly used with pasta) is neither blubbery nor un-flavorful. Pasta itself, it could be argued, is blubbery and bland.

[Laura Corin]

Where white sauce is blubbery, bland, and not flavorful.

 

Bill

 

My aim is to provide variety in my cooking: some of the tastes are fresh and light; others are rich and comforting.

 

Laura

[Spy Car]

In my opinion, milk and butter are legitimate flavors, and my white sauce (again, mostly used with pasta) is neither blubbery nor un-flavorful. Pasta itself, it could be argued, is blubbery and bland.

 

I'm good with milk, I'm good with butter. It's cooking white four with these other two to make a paste that results in a taste and texture profile that I don't find palatable.

 

Bill

[Georgiana Daniels]

I'm a sucker for tater tot casserole.

 

OK, true confession:

 

It never occured to me that I could do anything homemade in place of Cream of XXX.

[stripe]

I'm good with milk, I'm good with butter. It's cooking white four with these other two to make a paste that results in a taste and texture profile that I don't find palatable.

Oh well. I like pudding too.