Have Leftovers? Here’s How to Soup Them Up!

My family ends up with a lot of leftovers over the course of a week, and when the main dish is gone, the sides tend to linger until they go bad. And if you don’t know, I hate food waste. It’s just as detrimental to our environment as textile waste because it’s such a valued commodity. After all, we all need food to survive. And when so many go hungry on any given day, why would we waste it? Recently, I’ve been blessed with tons of canned vegetable and tomato soup and I decided to create a recipe where I used leftover veggies, salsa, and some spices off the shelf. And when I say recipe, I mean that very loosely, because this will be completely to taste.

The first thing you’re going to do is take your can of soup and prepare it just like the can says. If it says to add water, add water. You can also add chicken or beef stock, or if you’re making tomato soup, you can add milk instead. I like to cook my soup on the stove, versus the microwave, because it really helps to blend the seasonings together. It also helps to make sure whatever you add is cooked thoroughly.

While the soup is cooking, add a few scoops of leftover veggies. You can add things like corn, green beans, peas or broccoli for a really souped up flavor. Add some salsa for a little zest. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. You can even add some dried Italian seasonings and let them cook in. And if you really want to make your soup special, add some chopped, cooked chicken breasts or Italian sausage. It makes it so YUM!

Once everything is cooked (and it doesn’t take long), serve in a bowl and sprinkle with some fresh cheese, some fresh herbs, and serve with bread or crackers. Voila! Here’s a great meal that’s quick, tasty and keeps your food from being wasted.

Have you souped up your soups before? Let us know your favorite ways to reuse your leftovers in the comments below.