SZND by Katoya  /  From My Kitchen
From my kitchen · Thanksgiving 2025

Kitchen-extras soup.

Some of my best soups start with what's left on the counter. While I was prepping Thanksgiving last year, I kept a pot going all week with whatever came off the cutting board: celery, onion, the mushrooms left from my cream of mushroom, roasted chicken, and carrots. It carried us through the cooking days.

Stovetop No waste Cream of mushroom included
Creamy soup with chicken, sliced mushrooms, celery and carrots being poured into a bowl
Thanksgiving week 2025.

Ingredients

No measurements on this one. It's built from what you have, and seasoned to taste.

  • Broth
  • Homemade cream of mushroom (recipe below)
  • Roasted chicken, pulled
  • Celery (prep leftovers)
  • Onion (prep leftovers)
  • Mushrooms (the extras from the cream of mushroom)
  • Carrots
  • Cajun seasoning
  • Garlic powder

Method

I added to this pot all week as I prepped, and on the other days threw it together for easy meals leading up to the big day.

  1. Start with broth and homemade cream of mushroom as the base. My first pot went right into the pot I'd just made the cream of mushroom in.
  2. Add what's left from prep: celery, onion, and the extra mushrooms.
  3. Add pulled roasted chicken and carrots as you have them.
  4. Season to taste with Cajun seasoning and garlic powder, and simmer until it's hot through.
Use what you haveThis one changes with whatever is on the counter. That's the point.
The base

Homemade cream of mushroom

Thanksgiving 2025 was the first year I didn't use canned. I made about five 8 oz jars on Tuesday of Thanksgiving week: some went into my cornbread dressing, some into this soup, and some into the freezer.

Ingredients

  • White mushrooms, sliced
  • Fresh onion, diced
  • Fresh garlic, minced
  • Butter
  • All-purpose flour
  • Chicken or vegetable stock
  • Heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk (use what you have; I had all three)
  • A splash of sherry
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Cook the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender and golden. Add the garlic.
  2. Stir in the flour and cook about 2 minutes to cook out the raw taste.
  3. Pour in the stock and bring it to a gentle simmer until it thickens.
  4. Stir in the cream, half-and-half or milk. Finish with a splash of sherry and pepper.
  5. Jar it. Freeze what you won't use that week.
Chunky or smoothI left mine chunky because it was going into my cornbread dressing. For a smoother soup, blend part of it before you add the cream.

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