Leftovers are the mother of stocking your freezer (Homemade cream of celery soup)

Whenever I have leftovers of ingredients that are unusual to me, I always research ways to use them up in a thoughtful way.  I bought milk for the Berry Breakfast Bread and had some leftover.  I am not lactose intolerant, but I tend to avoid dairy, or specifically milk, because it exacerbates my allergies. I could not bear to throw it away and decided I must make something from it that I could use again. Enter making homemade Cream of Celery soup!

I usually never make recipes with cream of soups because quite honestly, the sliding it out of the can makes me cringe.  And it just seems like there must be so much bad stuff in there to keep cream shelf stable for so long.  But every now and then you need it, and I figured I could freeze it in mason jars and use it when the casserole mood struck.

I was surprised by how easy this was.  And now much better it tasted than canned.  I have not used it in a casserole yet, but I used it in some dinner on the fly enchiladas (Soon to come) and it was wonderful.  Have you ever made something like this from scratch?  I have previously made chicken broth breadcrumbs, bisquick and pizza sauce. Try this, keep it in your kitchen and find awesome ways to use it!  Full recipe after the montage. Linking up with Meal Plan Monday, click on over and check it out!

Homemade cream of celery soup
Look how natural and creamy!
Homemade cream of celery soup
The cast.  Look, homemade chicken broth!
Homemade cream of celery soup
Add everything to the pot and get it going.  Well, not the celery yet.
Homemade cream of celery soup
Now you add the celery.
Homemade cream of celery soup
After a while, here you go, ready to casserole!

Homemade Cream of Celery Soup (Borrowed from Life as a Mom)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles. Whisk in the milk and the chicken broth, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, celery, salt, and pepper. Use in your recipe or chill completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.

Happy Cooking!

Missy

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