Homemade "Cream of" Soup Base

You know how most "quick" casseroles have cream of chicken/mushroom/whatever soup in them? I usually try to avoid using these canned soups because of the excess sodium, MSG, and other ingredients that I know my grandmothers wouldn't recognize. (BTW, that's my standard when buying canned or pre-made items. If there are ingredients that my grandmothers wouldn't recognize, I don't usually buy it.)

Anyway, I was reading the comments on a blog (sorry, I didn't write down the blog's name - bad MDG! lol) and someone posted a recipe for homemade "cream of" soups. You make the base, then add the flavoring you want/need. GENIUS! I'm going to have to give this a try.

HOMEMADE CREAM SOUP SUBSTITUTE
2 C instant nonfat dry milk
3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C instant chicken bouillon
2 tsp dry onion flakes
1 tsp each basil and thyme
2 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients and mix well. Store in jar in cupboard. Makes the equivalent of 9 cans of soup.

To flavor: Add mushrooms, celery or onion when cooking to make whatever cream-of-soup you are replacing.

To make the equivalent of one can of soup, use 1/3 cup of the mix and 1.5 cups water and cook until thickened.

Looking for a good "make ahead" Sunday morning breakfast or brunch? How about my Breakfast Bake?

MDG's Breakfast Bake (serves 8)

3/4 lb. bulk breakfast sausage
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 C frozen hash browns (I like the Alexia yukon gold ones)
3/4 C grated cheddar or swiss cheese
1/2 C flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 C milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a square baking dish and set aside.

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage, onion and pepper, breaking up the meat, until the meat is cooked (7 to 8 mins.)

Transfer the meat mixture (including the fat) to the casserole dish and stir in the frozen hash browns and cheese.

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the milk and eggs until well combined. Pour over the sausage mixture, ensuring even coverage.

Bake uncovered until light brown on top and around the edges, about 35 to 40 mins. (If you want your casserole extra cheesy, you can sprinkle another 1/2 C of shredded cheese on top and bake for another 2 minutes.)

Enjoy!

(Weight Watchers note: If you use 1% milk and don't add the extra cheese, this comes to 7 WW points per serving)