Cream of Mushroom Soup Base

1 carton (8 oz? the squarer version, not a larger rectangular one) mushrooms. Any will work, though in general the white button style are what goes on sale and are easiest to find
3 T butter
2 heaping T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t thyme
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
2-3 cups milk
salt to taste
Start by chopping your mushrooms to the size you prefer. We like ours somewhere between a dice and chunky. While you are chopping melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the mushrooms, thyme and black pepper.

Saute until the mushrooms have changed to a darker brown and softened.
Once this happens, you will build a roux around the mushrooms, like if you were making a creamy breakfast gravy. Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute (otherwise you'll have a floury taste to the soup base. Yuck.)


Dump in your milk- I honestly eyeball this as I know with what pan I use how much I need. I err on the side of too much and let it cook back down to a creamy consistency, like that of a thick gravy, if it was too much. Stir the milk in and stir from time to time until your base reaches a nice creamy consistency.

Taste and add salt to taste-usually at least 1/4-1/2 t.Let cool and put in labeled containers in the freezer. Its easiest to lay flat on a baking sheet to freeze so you can stack them easier 

We use ours for soup (add milk and more seasoning to taste and thickness), added to casseroles in place of canned condensed soup (comes out to about one can per batch of this recipe) or added to creamy, roux based gravies like what we use on chicken fried steak