Clean-Out-the-Fridge Soup

Ingredients

Clean-Out-the-Fridge Soup
Choose a base:
6 cups broth (chicken, beef or vegetable) or 2 cups spaghetti sauce
plus 4 cups water

Add 1 of the following:
2 cups beef, chicken, turkey or pork, shredded or cubed, or 1 cup ham, diced, or 3 cups canned or cooked dried beans

Add 3 to 4 cups vegetables, such as carrots, sliced celery, diced onions, chopped potatoes, cubed tomatoes, diced green beans zucchini, sliced peas

Next, add up to 4 spices and seasonings (4 tablespoons fresh or 2 tablespoons dried total): basil, chives, cumin, garlic or marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary or thyme, cayenne, chili powder plus salt and pepper to taste

Finish with 2 cups of rice, barley, pasta or corn

Combine all ingredients in a big pot. Cover and cook on low for several hours. You can do this in a slow cooker, as well. Be sure to place any raw root vegetables on the bottom, then cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. You have a lot of latitude here. You can use raw or previously cooked ingredients. Make sure you add the previously cooked items toward the end of the cook time if you started with raw ingredients. And if your leftovers have already been spiced, take it easy with the seasonings.

In the future, keep 3 containers in your freezer labeled "Soup," "Chili" and "Spaghetti Sauce." Now, when you have small amounts of leftovers, deposit them into the appropriate freezer container. When a container gets full, you'll know it's time to make soup, chili or spaghetti.

Soup container: gravy, corn, vegetables, meat, poultry and other ingredients found in soup.

Chili container: sauteed onions, green peppers, beef, taco meat and sauce, and other chili ingredients.

Spaghetti-sauce container: leftover spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and ground meat.

One last thing: Instead of throwing out beef bones, collect them in a zipper-type freezer bag. Throw a few into your soup to enhance and deepen the flavor. Be sure to remove them before serving.

Procedure

Serving Information

• Serves:
• Fat: g
• Calories: