Scrap Soup

One of my favorite money saving tips happens to be one of my family’s favorite meals. We call it scrap soup. It is easy to make, inexpensive, and, better yet, deals with one of the things I dread: leftovers.

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You know those tablespoons full of leftover veggies? There's not enough to keep but it really seems wasteful to it throw away? The ones I would, out of guilt, put it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and pop into the fridge? While I had good intentions of using them, more often than not, whatever-it-is was forgotten until the contents mysteriously transformed into a science experiment when the bowl got pushed further and further to the back of the bottom of the keep-it-forever-or-at-least-till-it's-unidentifiable appliance.

After a while, usually when I could no longer find any cereal bowls, I finally removed all those partial servings of fuzzy tablespoons-of-something and slimy quarter-cup remains of whatever-it-used-to-be. I'd also find what might have started it's life as roast and gravy that now looks like grease-encrusted Jell-O-gone-south or grains of what might have started it's life as rice.

Duh.

About three years ago I started saving those teaspoons and tablespoons of leftovers. Instead of putting them in a smaller bowl wrapped in cling wrap, we now put these bits-n-pieces in an old pickle jar (emptied and washed, of course...hehehe) and pop them in the freezer. Peas, green beans, corn, mixed veggies, left over roast and gravy, miscellaneous beans, etc. get dumped in the pickle jar. Juice and all. The only thing I don’t put in it is things that don’t freeze well, for example, broccoli, potatoes, and cabbage.

Oh, yeah…I keep chicken in a separate container…but that’s another story.

What is below belongs more in the realm of suggestions than a real recipe because it uses leftovers, but Scrap Soup is essentially a free meal, so a bit of trial and error is well worth the time. At the Zimmerer house, it is so well liked that it is one of our favorite meals...and is on the menu tonight!

Instructions: Defrost two jars of your frozen leftovers as described below. That's the only constant in this recipe...

Since my menfolk are meat-a-saurauses, I usually start with beef of some type. Sometimes I brown and season a pound of ground beef. At other times I only use any leftover roast beef and gravy that might be in one of the jars.

After that I make a sweep through the pantry for any less-than-desirable potatoes and onions that might be languishing under newer purchases. Those that are lying abandoned and increasingly wrinkled or are beginning to grow are my first choice. I also go through the crisper drawer (mine should be called a "wilter" drawer, but that's another story) for limp carrots or forgotten tomatoes (before they turn slimy, of course). Squash that is getting rubbery is also an option. A sweep through the fridge for any identifiable (which translates safe and suitable) leftovers that might have escaped the pickle jar is also performed.

Of course fresh veggies can be...and often are...used.

Heat the contents of the two jars as soon as it is thawed enough to dump out in an appropriately sized pan, then peel, chop, and add the potatoes/carrots/onions/tomatoes/squash (or whatever you find). Simmer till the veggies are done. Dried macaroni can be added halfway during the cooking time. Leftover rice does well added at the end as does leftover macaroni and cheese. Sometimes I add a can of Rotel Tomatoes.

After a couple of trials your imagination is the limit.

Very little seasoning is needed since most of the stuff that went into the soup was already seasoned. Depending on what's in the pot, always tasting first (you know I do that, right?...) I add a bit of salt and pepper, sometimes some spices and/or some Worcestershire sauce.

Viola...Scrap Soup!