This recipe makes about a half-gallon of soup. I use it in recipes such as casseroles in place of store bought canned soup all the time. You can freeze the extra, too!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 Stalks Celery – finely diced
• 1 Medium Onion – finely diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic – minced
• 12oz white or baby portobello mushrooms – chopped or sliced
• 1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 4 Cups Milk
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Melt 4 Tbs butter in a large saucepan on medium low heat
• Stir in the onion, celery, and garlic
• Bump the burner up to medium high and add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally to keep from burning, and cook until most of the liquid has cooked off.
• Remove the veggies from the pan
• Melt remaining butter over medium heat
• Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly, until bubbly and smooth. You want to cook off the flour taste, but don’t want it to brown
• This is where I add the salt and pepper
• Add the milk gradually, constantly stirring
• Simmer very gently over low heat, stirring frequently to avoid milk from scalding or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the mixture has thickened.

*I leave my measured milk out on the counter while I doing all the prep work such as cutting veggies. I think it incorporates with the flour better, but is not a necessity.