I grew up with Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup, it brings back powerful memories of my childhood. Now, as an adult, these cream soups don’t seem to taste as yummy as they used to (probably because they are made much more cheaply!).

I still want to eat them, they make a quick, hot lunch on a cold winter’s day. So I have figured out a way to make them delicious without making the whole thing from scratch.

This technique works best with Cream of Chicken or Cream of Celery, for Cream of Mushroom you can substitute the diced celery with fresh or canned Mushrooms. Of course, depending on your palate, you can also add a little Taco seasoning or Creole seasoning…

Dice one slice of onion, one stalk of celery

Mince a clove of garlic

Cut a slice off the white end of a leek, cut in half, then cut small slices from the green end

Cook the onion and celery in butter until the onion starts to brown, then add a splash of white wine, 1/4 cup of Chicken Stock, the garlic and the leek.

Reduce.

Cut some chicken meat into cubes, thigh works well (lots of flavor), add to the pan.

Add some salt and pepper and simmer on low medium heat until most of the liquid is gone.

Add the cream soup and stir in a can-ful of whole milk. Raise the heat until the soup starts to boil, then reduce and simmer for 3-4 minutes, the soup should get nice and thick. Kepp stirring occaisionally so the soup doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.

Garnish the soup with a dash of Paprika and enjoy!