Monday Madness: Soup!

Welcome to Monday Madness where I will talk about pretty much anything that comes to mind. From homeschooling to special needs to strange blog posts about silly objects to interviewing a family member...you never know what you might read on Monday Madness! Enjoy!

It's almost fall, y'all!

Fall is my favorite time of year....from the leaves falling, the colors changing, the crispness in the air to the warm afternoons perfect for yard work....I love it all!

One of my favorite dishes to make is soup. I love smelling it simmer all day long on the stove or in the crockpot. Yum!

We have our favorite soups that we can do over and over again like Tomato, Zuppa Toscana, Chicken Noodle, Minestrone...the list goes on. 

However, one of my family's favorites is basically Leftover Soup. In talking to my grandma, she told me that she does the same thing, so I am fairly certain she was the one that taught me. Now, there is a love-hate relationship with Leftover Soup. Most everyone loves it....that's good. You can NEVER recreate it, that's the part they hate! Pretty much every time we make it, we say, "This is the BEST Leftover Soup ever!" 

Leftover Soup is best with....leftovers! It's perfect when there are more days than paycheck, one does not feel like wandering over to the store for items needed to complete other meals or it's a cold day. You simply look through the frig and cupboards to see what you can find. Sometimes you look at what you have and think...."Hmm....would that actually make a soup?" It is really surprising what comes together to make a dish flavored with yumminess that can last one or two meals....out of leftovers!

A couple days ago, it was a splendidly cold, crisp day and my daughter Jordyn desperately wanted to make soup. She looked through my book and couldn't find a recipe where we had all the ingredients. I looked at her and said, "I bet I can come up with a soup!" So off to the kitchen we went to look through the frig and cupboards. Here is a list of some of the oddball things we put in our soup:

• a cup of leftover spaghetti sauce
• a couple cups of uncooked shell noodles
• a small chicken breast
• a cup or so of ground meat
• a small onion
• a few small shallots
• a seasoning packet that had lemon and garlic
• a couple tablespoons of garlic
• a couple cups of broth
• carrot slices
• a few red potatoes

Honestly....there may have been more, however, between Jordyn and I, this was all we could think of.

We sauteed the onions and carrots in butter, added some red pepper flakes to that and then put all the ingredients together in the crockpot minus the shell noodles. We let it cook all day and about 20 minutes before it was time to eat, we added the uncooked noodles. 

We all agreed, "The best soup ever!"

It even lasted for two meals, the first night it was more the thickness of a stew, the second night we added water to stretch it and it was more of a soupy consistancy. We also added shredded cheese the second night to the top! 

If you haven't tried Leftover Soup, give it a try this fall or winter and let me know how it turns out!

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi

Numbers 6:24-26