Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by Quinn.anya

I've mentioned before that I love my slow cooker. It's so convenient to just throw in the ingredients and let them simmer all day for a delicious supper. I even have an entire cook book containing slow cooker recipes.

Since we''ve tried to go unrefined, however, a lot of my favorite recipes have fallen by the wayside because so many of them contain cans of creamed soups. These soups are very convenient for the busy cook who wants to be able to dump everything in, and they do help make some fabulous tasting meals, but they are definitely not unrefined nor unprocessed.

Take a look at the list of ingredients in Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup, according to foodfacts.com:

Chicken Stock, Wheat Flour, Chicken Fat, Chicken Meat Cooked, Cream, Corn Starch, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Margarine, Chicken Mechanically Separated, Salt, Soybean(s) Oil, Water, Beta Carotene, Calcium Caseinate, Flavor(s) Chicken, Chicken Powder, Dairy Blend Dried, Whey Dried, Food Starch Modified, Monosodium Glutamate, Flavoring Natural, Sodium Phosphate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Spice(s) Extractive, Whey, Yeast Extract

This soup also contains a whopping 880 mg. of sodium in a 1/2 cup serving!

So, this is why I've been avoiding cooking with these soups. Fortunately, awhile back, I came across a recipe for cream of chicken soup on Pinterest, and I'd like to share it with you. Not only is this homemade version much healthier, it's also a lot cheaper, especially if you use your own chicken broth.

Now, when I say healthier, and the recipe includes butter, I'm not contradicting myself. Remember, unrefined does not mean low fat--it means we avoid damaged fat (trans fats). We use whole fat dairy products instead of the more processed low fat and non fat alternatives, and we use real food (butter) in place of manufactured food (margarine).

Cream of Chicken Soup

from A Frugal Simple Life

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning (check ingredients)
1 and 1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add flour and seasonings, and mix with a wire whisk until well blended and bubbly. Slowly add broth and continue whisking until thickened. This recipe can be substituted for 1 can of cream of chicken soup.