Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe

Once in a while, I'm in the mood for some easy cooking. I have to confess that even though it's not the ideal solution, I've been known to use a can of soup or two in my day as a sauce base or gravy. You know what they say... You can take the girl out of the trailer...

Anyway, since God has smited me with a child of many allergies, that kind of cooking is out of the question unless said child is at his dad's. Verily then, I give my cream of mushroom soup recipe unto you. It's enough for that night's recipe and plenty to freeze for when your future recipes say "add can of soup." Just remember if you want it "condensed" you need to cook it till it reduces quite a bit. I just leave it as is since most of the recipes I cook like this also call for a cup of milk or broth or whatnot. Just omit that from your recipe, then.

Oh, and hey -- you can just eat this stuff, too. It's pretty good like that.

• 8 ounces chopped mushrooms
• 1 stick of butter
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 quarts chicken stock (I use 2 boxes of Pacific)
• 1 can evaporated milk (the big can, 12 ounces)

1. Melt butter and saute mushrooms.
2. Add flour and stir constantly for 4 minutes.
3. Add stock slowly, stirring as you go.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add evaporated milk and serve hot or allow to cool and pour into storage containers and freeze. (I store 1 1/2 cups at a time and that works for most recipes I make.)

Tip: You can also use cream, half and half or milk and it turns out well, too. If you use milk, I'd increase the butter just a tad.