Crazy Soup
September 04, 2022
Do you love making soup? Does your family love eating it? Do you also enjoy being frugal in the kitchen? If so, this post is for you!
I got this idea from Ina Garten many years ago, and since then I’ve made countless versions of what I alternately call Crazy Soup, Mystery Soup, or Whatever Soup. Whatever you name it, no two pots are ever the same—and it’s always delicious, easy, and wonderfully frugal.
I hate throwing out food. When we were younger, I was married to a human garbage disposal and nothing went to waste. If there was a little something left in the pan, I’d plop it onto my husband’s plate and he’d happily eat it. These days, though, his appetite isn’t what it once was, and he now protests when I try to add “just one more bite” to his dinner.
For a while, those sad little leftovers—one broccoli spear, a few potatoes—ended up in the refrigerator, where they were promptly forgotten and eventually tossed at the end of the week. But not anymore.
Now, if I can’t convince my husband to eat that last broccoli spear, I don’t throw it out, and I don’t refrigerate it to be forgotten. I freeze it and save it for Whatever Soup.
Here’s how it works: the next time you have a tiny bit of leftover anything—a quarter of a baked potato, two paltry spears of asparagus, sliced tomatoes, a handful of tater tots, half a cup of cauliflower au gratin, even salad (yes, even with the dressing!)—put it into a large 8-cup freezer container and stash it in the freezer.
Add leftovers as you have them, a little at a time. When the container is full, it’s time to make Crazy Soup. For us it usually takes about four to six weeks to fill it up. None of these odds and ends are enough to do much on their own, but put together? You’ll have the makings of a surprisingly good pot of soup. You’ll see.
Now it’s time for the easiest part: the cooking.
Empty the entire frozen contents of your container into a saucepan with a little water. If I have a lonely carrot or some other small vegetable in the refrigerator that doesn’t have a future plan, I’ll toss that in too. Cook everything on low heat until it’s fully thawed and heated through.
Next, blend the soup with a stick blender and give it a taste. It will almost certainly need to be thinned, so add chicken or beef stock, water, or milk—whatever you think will work best with your particular mix of ingredients. Let it continue to cook gently and season with salt and pepper.
Taste again, then add one interesting complementary flavor: curry, dill, an Italian herb mix, chipotle seasoning—whatever feels right. This is also the point where you can add a small amount of leftover meat, rice, or pasta if you have it. Chopped pork chop or a sliced chicken cutlet works beautifully (though most of the time, I don’t have those leftovers either).
Taste once more and make one final creative seasoning choice. Then dish it up and add your toppings.
For toppings:
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For color: chopped parsley, chives, or finely diced tomato
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For a nutty crunch: toasted sesame seeds or pine nuts
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For a flavor boost: a swirl of pesto or sour cream, grated cheese, or diced bacon (a little goes a long way!)
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For freshness: grated carrot or cucumber for a crisp contrast
Top it with whatever you have in your pantry and whatever you think will be great. That’s the beauty of this soup.
This is a fun, frugal soup and it’s different every single time. Honestly, we’ve never had one we didn’t love. Sometimes the soup turns out orange or red, sometimes green or white—and occasionally brown (like the time it leaned heavily on grilled onions and sautéed mushrooms). No matter the color, it always tastes good. But if it does look a little brown, I recommend a quick sprinkle of cheese or something colorful so no one notices… lol.
CRAZY SOUP RULES:
Nothing is off-limits. If it’s been cooked and safely saved, it’s invited.
Ugly is expected. This soup will never win a beauty contest—and that’s fine.
Dump first, judge later. Everything goes into the pot before opinions are formed.
Stock is the great unifier. Add enough to make it soup and call it good.
Blend (or don’t). Smooth, chunky, or somewhere in between—cooks choice.
Taste before seasoning. Let the soup tell you what it wants to be.
Lean into the vibe. Italian? Southwestern? Go with it.
No two batches are ever the same. That’s the magic.
Compliments from your spouse count—even if they say the same thing every time.
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| This was a beauty queen of my Leftover Soups. There must have been a lot of tomato, carrot and red bell pepper in it. |
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| This one I purposely left slightly chunky. It was mainly leftover enchilada casserole and potato. At the end I added some leftover taco meat and topped with toasted pumpkins seeds. |
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| This was the one with the leftover cauliflower au gratin casserole, half baked potato, and tater tots of all things, then topped with crispy bacon and pine nuts. |
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| This had a suspicious color of greeny brown. I'm blaming the grilled onions. I quickly topped it with cheese, sour cream drizzle, chopped chives and shredded red cabbage. It was delicious despite the color. |
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| This one was mainly chard casserole, asparagus, potato and broccoli. I topped it with grated Parmesan, chopped garlic chives and some beautiful purple garlic chive flowers. |
20 Comments
I often think of doing what you describe but never get around to it (some asparagus. spears have been there for months), Maybe this post will spur me on, Kristen. (Gotta start using my stick blender more:)).
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing thinking of that lonely asparagus. Yes, give some love to that stick blender!
DeleteLove this! I love making things from what others would normally throw out - from jean quilts to stock and bread pudding. And this summer we got chickens again, so now I get eggs from the leftovers we people wouldn't eat :) Love your posts! - E
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have chickens! I envy you but my husband says no way to chickens. I'll bet with the kitchen leftovers your eggs are the best! And as for making things from cast offs--you are a gal after my heart.
DeleteI love this too! I love being frugal whenever I can, especially in the kitchen. Making use of things that are normally thrown out is something I love to do and this idea hits me in the right spot! I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for always sharing your good ideas.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much and you are welcome!
DeleteIt’s Labour Day here in Canada, too. Just a subtle difference…we add the “u” in Labour.
ReplyDeleteI love this post about Crazy Soup! I make a lot of soup in colder weather, but this is a whole new level for me.
Something I add to a lot of my soups is instant potato flakes, for a quick and delicious thickener.
It's nice to know our wonderful northern neighbors also have Labor Day, even if you do spell kinda funny! Your idea of potato flakes as a thickener is genius. I've put it on my grocery list and can't wait to try it out!
DeleteA very timely post as I was planning to prepare minestrone in a bit! Excellent idea for leftovers and all your soups look amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Minestrone is such a great soup. Everyone loves it and cooks like to make it. Bon appetit--I'll be right over!
DeleteThis is a terrible idea. All 6 of protest vigorously. Signed, The hens of Carsten Acres.
ReplyDeleteSorry girls! What was I thinking? I'll delete this post pronto!
DeleteKristen so far you have never steered me wrong. I love soup so will try this once it cools down.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally off subject but on some post I read about this miracle fabric cleaner and I have to say it works so well. One part regular Dawn (not the 4X or anything) to three parts hydrogen peroxide. If it doesn’t come out first time do again and scrub with a tooth brush. It is so amazing it’s a MIRACLE!!!
Amazing! It sounded so crazy I had to google it and it's true! I'm giving it a try. THANK YOU!
DeleteOops I forgot to say just throw in laundry basket over night, so it can work it’s magic.
ReplyDeleteRe-entering this space to say I forgot to add my name to my post ( the well-aged - aka rotting - frozen asparagus spears one) and to say thanks to the tips given by some of your other Commenters. This has always been such a useful as well as beautiful blog. Chloe
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny. The asparagus getting frost bite in the freezer has given me a chuckle.
DeleteI’ve been tossing veggie leftovers into my freezer soup bag for a while. Green beans corn carrots some zucchini broccoli but never potatoes. I’m going to expand my list of veggies and see what I can make! Geri
ReplyDeleteYour tips are great! Add this to your repertoire: Stir Fry Soup :). Can anyone make Just the RIGHT amount of stir fry??? Never! I make a generous wok full with soup in mind. I package up the leftovers (including rice or noodles) and in a night or two I add homemade chicken stock and bring to a simmer. You expect the veggies to have lost some of their crunch, but they still have all the wonderful flavors of the first night. (Disclaimer: I have never frozen the cooked stir fry veggies before making this soup.)
ReplyDeleteGenius! I love the idea of stir fry soup! I want some right now. I also love the idea of making planned leftovers just so you can have soup! Thanks for the tip.
DeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!