Cream of the Crop

I've done A LOT of homemade this or that as substitutions for common commercial items; diapers, lotions, soaps, chapstick, yogurt, clothes, etc. This is by far my favorite of them all. "Cream of __Something__" Soup Mix. At risk of sounding even cheesier than I normal do - it is the cream of the crop.

You can mix up this simple recipe that I found here. Or make a larger batch by tripling or quadrupling it and keeping it in an old juice bottle like me. However you do it, I promise you won't be disappointed.

I make a chicken mix and a beef mix that I use in place of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom soups. I bought the things I needed for less than $10, and it has/will easily make the equivalent of at least 60-70 of the typical cans. On sale the best I have found these soups priced at was 59 cents; which is at least triple the price of the mix ingredients. I could spend at least $100 a year on soup mixes for some of my favorite recipes so this is a lifesaver for us at Bag End.

I usually use these in casseroles or other soups so I don't even bother with the thickening step because I can simply add extra liquid to whatever I am cooking and it will thicken itself and have a stronger taste.

One casserole Mr. Sam has taken fondly to (and so has Hobbit Jo) is Chicken Bacon Casserole.

9x13 pan, serves 6

1/2 lb of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
2 lbs of chicken (diced and cooked up in the remaining bacon grease)
2/3 C of Cream of Chicken soup mix
4 C of Water or Milk
1/2 lb or 2 C of uncooked Macaroni
*Opt. 1-2 C of Vegetable of Choice (we've used corn, broccoli, I'm looking forward to peppers)

Mix all together. Top with 1 C of cheese and breadcrumbs to form a nice crust and bake at 350*F for 1 hour.

Hope you like it, and thanks for checking back in with us at Bag End. I have really come to love blogging and sharing my day to day crafts with you as I work on expanding my horizons, and cooking is something I have always loved. Sharing recipes is something I always looked forward to growing up. In my mind it was a mark of a grown-up woman and mom was to have random 3x5 cards with a recipe from a party scratched down or having a signature dish that people requested. I humbly say thank you for reading and for giving me a chance to share. I hope you keep coming and checking back and sharing us with your friends. Because this is my day to day, cooking for my family and looking for diy versions to my favorite things. And I love it.