Cream of Chicken Soup

I've posted before about feeling like I had to start over with cooking when I went gluten free because of one simple ingredient: cream of condensed soup. It seemed like every recipe called for at least one can, and I could never figure out a good substitute that would still have the dish turn out the same way as before. Then I discovered Great Value gluten free cream of mushroom soup by accident at Walmart one day. Then at a later point, I found Great Value gluten free cream of chicken soup at a different Walmart in town, also by mistake!

After those discoveries, I stocked up (because I didn't want to have to accidentally find them again!) and then did some research to see if I could find a better (read: cheaper) alternative. (At $1.42 per can here in South Dakota, that's crazy expensive compared to the non-GF version!) That's when I discovered this amazing product: Augason Farms Cream of Chicken Soup Mix.

The reviews on Amazon looked promising, so I decided to give it a shot! I actually bought the product from Target, though, because of the 5% discount and free shipping by using my REDcard (every woman's best friend!).

The following recipe is the golden ticket to using this product. The canister contains nearly 11 cups of soup mix, so it can make roughly 21 equivalent cans of condensed soup. Calculating the Target price of $19.99 (at my time of purchase) with the REDcard discount brings the cost down to $18.99 which is only $0.90 per can!

Equals 1 can of condensed soup:
  1/2 cup Augason Farms Cream of Chicken Soup Mix
  1 3/4 cups water
Bring water to a boil. Add soup mix. Simmer 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

The best part is, if you are using this in a crock pot recipe, you can skip the cooking part completely. Just add the water and soup mix to your slow cooker and it will do the work for you!

One final note: IT'S DELICIOUS!

Green Bean Casserole

With Thanksgiving just a week away, I know one dish I'm looking forward to eating is green bean casserole. What's funny is that I didn't grow up eating this dish at all because my dad had (still has?) a strong aversion to green beans (apparently related to something his mother used to serve...I don't know the details, though). I learned to love this dish later in life, and now it's something I even occasionally make throughout the year when I have a hankering for it.

Normally I would post a photo of the dish itself, but for now the ingredients will have to do. That way you can go to the store and pick up all the necessary supplies to make it yourself on Thanksgiving Day like me!

The Great Value Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup from Walmart is a fairly new find for me. I actually discovered it on accident while scouring the shelves for something else because I didn't know it even existed! The live G free Gluten Free French Fried Onions are from Aldi, and let me tell you, they are just as good as the original version. I could pop them in my mouth like potato chips (and I have!). And you're probably looking at the photo and thinking to yourself, why would she have baby food in the picture? Substituting green bean puree for the usual milk in this recipe improves the flavor 1000%! Don't knock it 'til you try it...

Green Bean Casserole
Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients
2 (14.5-oz) cans green beans, drained
1 (4-oz) jar green beans baby food puree
1 (10.5-oz) can gluten free cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (6-oz) canister gluten free french fried onions

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine first four ingredients and about half of crispy onions.
3. Pour into greased 8x8 baking dish. Top with remaining onions.
4. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until top is golden and heated through (edges will bubble).

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

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Update on Friday, November 24: Now that I've had a chance to make the green bean casserole, here's a look at the final product!