Homemade "Cream Soup"

I began making my own cream soups, primarily because the canned versions contain wheat and milk ingredients. But, the canned versions of cream soups found in the grocery are full of preservatives that we try to avoid anyway. So, here is the recipe that I follow...you can change it up to make any of the cream soups.

Basic Cream Soup
Melt in a saucepan over medium-high heat:
3 Tbsp butter (or margarine)

Whisk in (cooking until bubbly)
3 Tbsp flour (I use the GF all-purpose flour mix)

Slowly add (using whisk so lumps do not form)
1 cup milk (rice milk or almond milk is fine if you're dairy-free)

Cook until thickened and completely incorporated. Add salt & pepper to taste.

**Options for changing it up:
Cheese sauce: Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and 1/4 tsp dry mustard after you add the liquid.
Cream of mushroom: Saute 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms and 1 Tbsp chopped onions in the butter before adding the flour.
Cream of celery: Saute 1/2 cup finely chopped celery and 1 Tbsp chopped onions in the butter before adding the flour.
Cream of chicken: Use chicken broth as the liquid instead of milk or you can use 3/4 cup chicken broth & 1/4 cup milk if you like it creamier.

This basic recipe will make the equivalent of 1 can of condensed cream soup. It might be slightly more liquid. You can make it thicker by using 4 Tbsp butter/4 Tbsp flour and 1 cup liquid.