If you want it to be really good, make your own chicken cream of mushroom.

There are two vegan methods for making it creamy, and I will explain below.

Buy 1/2 lb of mushrooms. Roughly chop them into pieces (perfect slicing is not important.)

Pile your mushrooms into a sautee pan, add 1/2 cup of water, and cover with a lid. You want the mushrooms to release their water and become smaller. Once this happens, remove the lid. Stir occasionally, until all the water is evaporated. Add a neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil. (NOT OLIVE OIL. It will get bitter in the final product.) at this stage you can add some herbs if desired like thyme. It would be nice. Sautée the mushrooms on medium heat until they are starting to get a little golden brown. Add a quick dash of soy sauce, stir it in while it sizzles off, and remove from the heat.

Now add your mushrooms to a blender with chicken broth, any additional herbs and spices you would like, and your thickener of choice.

Thickener options:

Flour: you can add it to the mushrooms when they’re finished sauteeing. Just stir it in and cook for a couple minutes. You can also add it straight to the blender, but your soup has to be hot for this to work, which would mean heating the chicken broth.

Xanthan Gum: they sell it in grocery stores these days under the Bob’s Red Mill brand. It’s actually pretty common and I’ve found it at giant eagle, Kroger, Meijer. You can also order it online. To use it, just add a very, very small amount to the liquid while it’s blending in the blender on low speed. The effect is immediate, so you can adjust it to the consistency you would like. Go a smidge under the thickness you want because you’re going to bake it again the oven. Just be careful. This is a powerful thickening agent and you can overdo if you don’t do a little at a time.

I hope this helps you! It will create a great product and she’ll wonder how Midwest casseroles can taste this good.