No More Canned Soup….

It appears that Mother Nature is slightly confused with 72 degrees one day and then dropping down to 50 degrees the next. I know in a few months I will be whining about the heat, and begging for some cooler weather, but for now all I really want is sun. But I guess I’m getting the best of both worlds because the sun is shiny, although tomorrow calls for rain, and it is cool outside. In saying that I figured that I would like to give one more nod to winter before it completely leaves us. I am absolutely thrilled with this recipe and the fact that I may never have to buy any type of canned soup ever again! I hope that you love it, too.

After making my Penny Pincher’s Potato Soup I had a revelation and found that “cream of” soups don’t ever really need any milk, or cream, at all! (Don’t be surprised if you see a Cream of Chicken soup recipe pop up in the future.) I don’t use a ton of cream of soups because my family doesn’t care for them, but I like to eat them without putting them into dishes. Once I realized how horribly bad they are from you coming from a can I started experimenting with making them at home. But between the calories, and the price of milk, I knew that there had to be a better way. As soon as I made my potato soup without a single drop of milk I knew that I had hit a gold mine!

Let me break it down for you. In a cup of canned cream of celery soup this is what you are getting, 181 calories, 1900 mg of sodium, and only 245 mg of potassium. In my cream of celery soup for a scant cup the calorie is 130, with 775 mg of sodium, and 341 mg of potassium. Is the sodium higher than I would like? Absolutely. Sadly, potatoes really suck up the flavor, BUT you can cut the salt in half and still have a wonderfully flavored soup.

This soup is “soup”er easy. (I can’t believe I just said that, but I absolutely had to.) I don’t generally peel my potatoes for soup, or salads, mashed, or baked, but these were on their last leg. They were still good, but the peels had seen better days. This just proves that you can really make something out of nothing. The celery I used was the greens and the small pieces that aren’t good for transporting peanut butter. 😉 ALWAYS USE YOUR CELERY GREENS they have so much flavor. This soup probably cost about .25c, if that. It is the perfect consistency for eating, but if you are using it in a casserole you may want to water it down a bit. Any way you choose to use it make a batch, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Cream Free Cream of Celery Soup

By Angie Gouchenour

6 servings

Ingredients

2 medium potatoes – peeled and chopped

2 cup celery ribs and greens – chopped

¾ cup low sodium chicken broth

½ – 1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 cup potato water

Directions

In a medium pan boil the potatoes until tender. Set aside to cool slightly

Using the same water boil the celery 5-8 minutes. (You don’t want it soggy)

Remove the celery from the water and set aside. Save the water

In a blender add potatoes, salt, pepper, chicken broth, and 2 cups of reserved potato water; blend until smooth

Stir in celery

Store in a sealed container in the fridge

1 serving (1 scant cup) = 130 calories