Cream Soup Mix

I recently found a recipe from the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website that I wanted to share with you.  This website is a great resource for saving money on healthy foods.  I love finding recipes that substitute for canned and processed foods which I can use to "make my own".  Most processed foods contain way too much sodium and/or sugar and preservatives for my liking.  I rarely use canned soup, but I do have a potato casserole recipe that my family loves that calls for a can of cream of celery soup.  I used this dry cream soup mix in place of the canned soup and it worked like a charm.  This version is lower in fat, sodium, and has no preservatives.  I also love the fact that the homemade version costs at least 50% less than the canned! 

Here is the recipe:
(Note: I didn't have dried thyme leaves so I substituted 1/2 teaspoon of ground thyme which I found to be too much.  The thyme flavor was rather prominent.  Next time I will be sure to add the leaves!)

Dry Cream Soup Mix
(Equal to 7 cans cream soup)

2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sodium-free dry chicken or vegetable bouillon
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container.
To use as a substitute for 1 can condensed soup:
       Mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cups water.
Stovetop: cook and stir with whisk until thickened.
Microwave: using a large microwave safe bowl; cook on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring with whisk every 30 seconds until thick.