Homemade Cream of "Something" Soup Base Recipe

I made this tonight and it came out great! So many of our recipes call for Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, etc. and yet I don't want to buy the canned products with all the stuff added in. So I made my own tonight with healthy and natural ingredients! I used whole wheat flour and organic ingredients. I wrote it down and added it to my recipe box. 

 "Cream of Something" Soup

Author/Source:

Kristi @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup main ingredient, diced
• 1/4 cup butter or substitute
• 1/4 cup flour or substitute
• 1 cup milk or substitute
• 3/4 cup broth

Cream of Something Soup Base Table

Cream of Something Main Ingredient Table

Directions:

Saute garlic, onion and main ingredient (mushrooms, chicken, celery, etc.) and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add “milk” and broth. Add sauteed garlic, onion and main ingredient. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until it reaches desired consistency (about 10-15 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper and use as you would a can of condensed Cream of Something Soup in any recipe. If I make it ahead of time, I pour the soup into a pint canning jar and refrigerate it for up to four days.

Freezing Directions:

You can freeze these in batches in pint or quart size bags or use as you would a can of condensed Cream of Something Soup in any recipe and freeze that dish. A great way to keep “cans” at-the-ready for your CrockPot recipes is to make a quadruple batch and bag each “can” serving in a pint-sized freezer bag. Place those bags in a gallon freezer bag, label and freeze. When you need a “can” of condensed soup, pull out a bag, thaw, and drop it in your crock!

Servings: 1 “can,” about 1.5 cups

The Provident Housekeeper - Beginners Cleaners Ebook

I got this for free on Kindle the other day. It has a lot of great tips and ideas for recipes on making your own cleaning supplies at home. It's a great way to save money!!
http://www.amazon.com/Provident-Housekeeper-Beginners-Cleaners-ebook/dp/B00B88UGLQ/ref=cm_rdp_product

This short book is packed with information on how to make your own cleaning products at home. The author begins by sharing important safety instructions on what products you should not mix. She then gives a thorough list of the items needed to prepare. Details on essential oils, their fragrances, and uses are included which I appreciated since I don't know a lot about them.
Step by step directions are provided with pictures showing the end results of how well the products clean. The cleaning products are divided by what item is needed in each room of your home. There are even recipes for personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste.
I found the book to be very helpful and informative. I have used a couple of these recipes in the past and have been very pleased with the results! What a great way to get started saving money and still have a very clean home! I am glad I found this helpful guide.

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

Tonight, Brad was going to go to a wildlife dinner. They were having an Iron Chef contest using the ingredient of bacon. I had seen bacon cupcakes on TLC one day and thought they sounded interesting. So I looked up this recipe on allrecipes.com and we used it.

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

After cooking the bacon, we put it in the food processor, so that the bacon was finely ground into bits. I saved a little of it so that we could use it as a garnish on top of the frosting.

The recipe suggested using canned chocolate frosting, but I prefer to make my own. My family has loved this recipe for a long time. Here it is:

Ms. Betty Chocolate Icing
1 stick butter
1 cup Nestle Quick
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 box powdered sugar
Melt butter and Nestle Quick together. Mix until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
*The recipe calls for 1/3 cup milk, but depending on how thick or thin you want it, you can adjust it as necessary.

I have to say, this recipe came out better than I thought it would. I may experiement with it and try using healthier ingredients and maybe add more bacon so that it has a saltier taste to it. 
Brad said the cupcakes went pretty fast at the event tonight, so it looks like other people liked them too!

Chocolate Chip "Bean" Cookies

Several friends have asked me for the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Bean Cookies that I have been making lately. They are so good! If I had not tried them before I made them, I never would have believed that they had beans in them. Special thanks to the Pierce family for sharing this recipe and many other healthy recipes with me as we honor our commitment to investing in our health!

Melissa's Chocolate Chip Bean Cookies

1 can Great Northern Beans (rinse and drain)
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder (non aluminum)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup Stevia baking blend (NuNaturals brand) (can purchase at swanson vitamins online)
3 TBS xylitol
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 cup butter (organic preferred)
1 TBS vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Be sure oven is preheated or cookies will not turn out well.
Rinse and drain beans. Mix in a blender with eggs until well blended and smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients together (including stevia, xylitol, and xanthan gum). Add to bean/egg mixture. Add vanilla and softened butter. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate chips and pecans.
Bake a 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

*I also added a cup of oats instead of pecans and they turned out well.

The only item that I was not able to find in our HEB store was the Stevia NuNaturals. WalMart didn't have it either. The xanthan gum and xylitol were in stock, however it was cheaper to order them online. I ordered from www.swansonvitamins.com

Good luck!

Thought I would pass this deal on! There are some great deals! If you scroll to the bottom of the page they have Discontinued Items that include foundations on sale for ONLY $12 (regularly $60) and their eye shadow shimmers are $5 (regularly $12). This is a wonderful product line that I love. Their products are all natural and mineral based. Just giving a heads up on this deal while it lasts!
http://www.bellaterracosmetics.com/?a_aid=50b694dfc159d

Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

I recently received a Bzz Kit with Hidden Valley Ranch coupons. I got the dry Ranch dressing as well as a bottle of salad dressing. There are so many uses for Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing that go beyond salad!
Ranch Dressing is a staple in our home. We use it for so many dishes besides salad. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing is a great dressing and has a solid reputation.
As a parent, I encourage my children to eat their vegetables. One way they enjoy their raw veggies is with Hidden Valley Ranch.
When cooking family meals, I use Hidden Valley Ranch as a marinade for chicken and also for adding additonal flavor in Mexican food dishes. One of our favorite ways to use Hidden Valley Ranch is in taco soup. Yum!

My Review of What a Difference a Mom Makes by Dr. Kevin Leman

I am a long time fan of Dr. Leman. His heart for families to be successful is so evident in the pages of his books. In What a Difference a Mom Makes, Dr. Leman specifically addresses the relationship between mothers and sons. The primary needs that a son has that his mother should focus on are to be respected, needed and fulfilled. Dr. Leman walks us through the various stages of life that our boys go through and how we as moms can be the most effective for each season.
Having grown up with a sister and mostly spending time with female family members, it was great to have Dr. Leman give honest and frank insight as to how boys think and feel. Boys are so opposite of girls and I found his information to be very enlightening and helpful. While some of the information covered in the book was repeating fact from some of his other books, there was material that was new and if I had not already read any of Dr. Leman's books, I would be out buying them after reading this one. I highly recommend this book to every mother who has a son, no matter what age. Thank you, Dr. Leman for all you do to help us build strong family units.
I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review.