Crappy Housewife Recipe: Sunday Soup

When you're sick of leftovers, here's a handy way to give them new life:

Sunday Soup

1. On Friday, get a rotisserie chicken (or other cooked meat on the bone) for dinner from your favorite grocery store's deli department. This week, I sent Jeremy, and he came back with BBQ ribs and chicken.

2. After dinner, pick any leftover meat from the carcass and throw all the bones in a pot with just enough water to cover. (It's okay to use the bones that people ate right off of, because they will cook for long enough to kill any germs.)

Bonus Tip: If you used a pot to cook potatoes or vegetables for dinner, don't bother washing it. Just empty it and use it for your broth.

3. Look in the fridge for limp celery, dried out carrots, and any other "not rotten, but not pretty" vegetables you can find. Add them to the pot. You can add seasonings if you want, but I don't bother, since the meat I get from the grocery store is well-seasoned.

4. Bring the whole pot to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour and a half, or until you are heading to bed and suddenly remember that there is broth on your stove.

5. Strain off the bones and veggies, and return the broth to the pot. Let it cool a bit, then stick the whole pot in your fridge.

6. On Sunday, take the pot out of the fridge. Skim the congealed fat off the top of the broth, then put the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil.

7. Rummage through your fridge and dig out soupifyable leftovers. This week, it was peas, beans, chicken (picked from the bones on Friday), and pasta with fresh tomatoes and corn. Be creative. You might be surprised how many things can go in the pot. Leftover casseroles make the soup into a cream-style soup, leftover soups make it extra-soupy. Cooked rice works well, too. If you don't have any leftover starches, add some dried noodles first, then when they are almost done, add all the already-cooked foods.

8. Simmer everything until heated through. If any of the leftovers were near their "Hmm, maybe we should toss that" date, cook them for a little longer before eating.

9. Eat and enjoy!