January 23, 2009

Use it or Lose it Soup

Friday. You look in the fridge and find tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, celery, bell peppers, carrots and squash. You had every good intention of using all of it this week. You've minced, choppped, boiled, seared, braised, broiled, fried, roasted, sauted, grilled, stewed, brined, mocrowaved, steamed and poached.

But on Friday, there they are. Limp zucchini, cabbage with spots, mushy tomatoes... you get the picture.

Really. I can't be the only one who opens the fridge door on Friday and has food tumble to the floor. I can't be the only one who picks it up and tosses it toward the back of the fridge, hoping it will lodge somewhere between the package of tortillas and the dill pickles.

Tell me I'm not the only one.

You got to use this stuff or lose it. I mean, it won't last forever (thank goodness). Time to make soup!

Start with a Ziploc bag with frozen turkey broth. This is a good way to store soups and broth by the way... put it in a Ziploc, let the air out and freeze it flat. It takes up zero room in your freezer!

Limp celery and carrots; garlic and onion. Fry it up in some olive oil.
Add some cubed Butternut squash, zucchini, half a head of cabbage and a frozen smoked turkey leg.
Simmer it for a few hours. Take out the turkey leg and remove the meat.
Look at all that meat you get from ONE turkey leg! Add that back into the soup.
Cube some stale bread, put it in a frying pan with a little olive oil, dried parsley and that canned parm cheese stuff. Fry until crisp and you have homemade croutons.

Ladle some soup into a bowl. Top with croutons. Eat.

Go shopping.... there's nothing worse than an empty refrigerator!


9 comments:

  1. You so aren't the only one. I do that all the time! That soup looks wicked good. :)

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  2. I love the title of your soup. Great idea! Thanks or the tips

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  3. No, you aren't the only one - and I love how you end your post with that last instruction of "go shopping." Heh.

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  4. No you're not alone , maybe we should form a club! great use of all those veggies!!

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  5. You are a lifesaver Karen! I am always amazed by the delicious meals you come up with but this is just such an amazing post full of so many fantastic tips I barely know where to begin! The flat soup idea is so awesome! how do you get the broth in then get it to lay flat so you can take out the air without spilling soup all over the floor? Perhaps I am the only clumsy one but this mysterious procedure is intriguing me :)

    Taking the leg out before finishing is great advice, I usually boil up soup with the whole carcas and spend a good bit of time picking out bones after its done, only to lose a bunch of rice in the process.

    Finally those home made croutons are getting made today. No doubt I loe bread in any form but there are always a few slices that get a little stale. You rock, thanks!!!

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  6. Jenn, if I can make a package of flat soup, anybody can! ;) Practice with water... fill up a Ziploc then set it on the counter. Zip it closed most of the way and let it gently collapse on the counter until most of the air is out, then you only have a short zip at the end to finish closing it! The croutons are so good I found myself eating them yesterday like potato chips!

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  7. You are definitely not the only one! I find myself in that predicament every week. This soup is the perfect solution! It looks hearty and really delicious. I love the name too!

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  8. Some of the best soups come out of this method. This is one of them! YUM!!

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