Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

I used to use a lot of cans of cream soups.  They are so easy to throw into a casserole to make it creamy and yummy!  One time though, I was completely out of cream of mushroom soup but didn't discover that until after I had started making something.  I needed something quick, so I got out my trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook to see what I could use instead.  It recommended making a thick white sauce and adding in mushrooms.  After finding out how easy it was and how much healthier our dinners could be, I have almost completely quit using canned soups.  I've also done a bit of experimenting to make cream of chicken and cream of celery soup with almost the same recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup of milk

Directions:
Saute mushrooms in the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly.  Gradually stir in the milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.

For cream of celery, substitute 1/2 cup celery for the mushrooms.  For cream of chicken, substitute chopped chicken for the mushrooms and 1/2 cup of chicken broth for 1/2 of the milk.

This will make about 1 can of condensed soup, but often I will triple or quadruple the amount and put the extra in jars in my fridge or freezer to save for later.  It's not as easy as opening up a can of soup and dumping it in, but if I have some ready to go, then I only have to cook it up once in a while and the rest of the time it is just as easy as dumping it in!  It is very tasty in Chicken Tetrazzini or Chicken Pot Pie!

Blessings,

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Wildflowers From Winter {Review}

Bethany Quinn grew up in a small town in Iowa, where her life is less than ideal after her father dies.  The only place she enjoys going is to be with her Grandpa, working with him on his farm. When she grows up though, she escapes her past and small town life to become an architect in Chicago.  Fast forward ten years and Bethany is called back home when tragedy strikes.  Despite her plan to keep her stay as short as possible, Bethany ends up staying indefinitely when she unexpectedly inherits 500 acres of farmland.  Bethany would like nothing more than to sell her land and get back to being an architect, but her Grandpa's handsome farmhand, Evan, stands in her way and it seems God has other plans for her life.  As she sorts through feelings of her past and her faith, she and Evan begin to fall for each other. 
I thoroughly enjoyed Wildflowers From Winter by Katie Ganshert!  It was such a great reminder that God's plan is not always the same as our plan.  Bethany struggled with letting go of her plan, but when she did, she found that God's plan was even better!  I also like that this book was about farming!  Growing up on and now having our own farm, I could very easily picture the farm scenes in the story.  The author did a very nice and accurate telling of many farming details.  I highly recommend Wildflowers From Winter and look forward to finding more books by Katie Ganshert.

I received this book for free for review from Waterbrook Multnomah

Blessings,

Song of My Heart {Review}

Song of My Heart, by Kim Vogel Sawyer, is a sweet, but fairly predictable romance.  It took me a bit to get into this book, and I thought it was a little slow to start, but it had a great ending.  Sadie is a sweet, rather naive, young girl working far from home to help support her family after her stepfather is injured.  She moves to Goldtree, Kansas, where her cousin Sid lives and told her of a store clerk job and an opportunity to use her musical talents at the town's new opera house.  When the opera house owner coerces her into performing bawdy songs for "invite-only" performances, Sadie does so to continue to be able to send money home to her family.
Thad McKane is also a new arrival in Goldtree.  He has been hired as the sheriff to discover who is running an illegal liqueur operation in town.  When Thad begins to discover that the illegal activity seems to be connected to Sadie, he wonders if their new found romance will be able to last.
Despite being predictable in the beginning, I liked how the ending of the story came about.  I also really enjoyed the quirky side characters of Melba and Shelba Baxter, the owners of the mercantile who give Sadie her clerk job and take her into their own home.  Kim Vogel Sawyer does a very nice job of weaving in the lesson of learning to trust God.  Sadie was trying to do what she thought she needed to to, but instead she should have allowed God to provide for her and her family.  Once she realized this, she was able to do what was right and have the courage to face the consequences of her actions.  Song of My Heart is a good romance with a strong faith base and I recommend it to anyone.

I received this book for free for review from Bethany House Publishers.

Blessings,