Brown Butter Cream of Celery Soup

When faced the the problem of making one of my husband's favorite meals, a dinner that his own mother taught me in her kitchen, AND sticking to my own food truths about eating healthy, I am extremely relieved to have this recipe in my back pocket. Brown butter cream of celery soup eliminates the need for the can of cream of whatever at the store, that so many lovingly passed down recipes call for. I love all the casseroles and stuff I grew up. But it totally conflicts with the way I want to eat and how I want to fuel my body. 

3 reasons why you should try it right now... or at least today. 

1. It's easy - not quite as opening up a can but easier than you think. Impress and inspire others to eat healthy after all you will have slaved all day in the kitchen, right? ;) 

2. Taste! You'll want to eat it with a spoon even before you start cooking with it. No really....The browned butter and whole wheat white flour creates a rich nuttiness that you won't want to miss and won't get from a can. It takes a few minutes extra but it totally worth it - just don't move from the stove (laugh). Butter burns easily. 

3. Nutrition-  Okay so a stick of butter isn't usually healthy but stacked up against a can of whatever soup that has a label that reads like this: Water, Celery, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola, and/or Soybean), Wheat Flour, Modified Food Starch, Contains less than 2% of: Salt, Soy Protein Concentrate, Monosodium Glutamate, Cream Powder (Cream [Milk], Soy Lecithin), Yeast Extract, Flavoring, Beta Carotene for Color.  Its the lesser of two evils. Get organic unsalted butter and feel good about the food you buy, eat, and feed to your family. For more info about the commercialized cream of whatever ingredients click here.

The recipe:

makes slightly more than 2 cups

stores average of 3-4 days in the fridge

prep + cooking time: 5-10 minutes

recipe adapted from Life As A Mom

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 of skim milk
1 1/2 cups of homemade chicken broth (or store brand that has no sugar)
1 chunk of good parmesan cheese (2-3 Tbs/ 1/2-3/4 oz)
1 tsp oil
1 stalk of celery
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Finely chop up your celery

2. Saute it in the oil in a nonstick pan for 5 minutes (will be tender crisp)

3. While the veg is sautéing start melting the butter in a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Once it melts continue stirring it until it is golden colored. The darkest color will be at the bottom so its important to stay by the stove so you can see immediately when its done and not turning black - burning. Takes 2-3 minutes. 

4. Once butter is golden add in the chicken broth, milk, and stir it until it becomes thick like a béchamel sauce. Think thick... think pancake batter.... will take 2-3 minutes. 

5. Stir in the celery, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Remove from the heat and cool completely or use it in your next recipe immediately. 

See easy 5 steps to avoiding fake cream and essentially chemically engineered food. Some of those cans have an unreal shelf life date. Can't be healthy... maybe we should save them and twinkles just incase someone tries to blow up the planet - its nice to know that there will be food for the bugs that survive ;) I live in Az... trust me. Some bugs have 9 lives. 

From my kitchen to yours