The Versatility of Leftover Soup and Stew

In the comments the other day, Amanda shared how she'd stretched leftover soup to feed her entire family. Then last night I made beef stew for our family's dinner, resulting in leftovers enough to only feed some of us for tonight.

When it comes to leftover soup, you can add extra ingredients, seasonings, and liquid to make additional servings. For additional protein you can add extra cooked meat, cooked beans, rehydrated TVP, a beaten egg or two, peanut butter, or top with cheese, depending on the flavors in the original soup. You can also use leftover soup in a casserole with cooked rice or noodles. If the soup is a broth-based soup, you can thicken it to stew consistency with the addition of a slurry of flour and water or some instant mashed potato flakes. If you wish to change the consistency of a chunky soup, you can run it through a blender to purée. Depending on the soup's original flavor, small amounts of leftover soup can be combined with a sauce to toss with pasta.

"Souper" Strategies for Leftover Soup

• casserole -- toss leftover soup with cooked rice (or other whole grains, such as millet) or noodles, add extra veggies as desired, top with shredded cheese and/or bread crumbs. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.
• transform a chunky soup into a creamy soup with the help of a blender, then top with chopped peanuts, roasted pumpkin seeds, shredded cheese, croutons, bacon or ham bits, or minced green onions. If needing to stretch this soup, add extra liquid, seasonings, and instant mashed potatoes.
• turn a brothy soup into a noodle bowl. Cook ramen noodles and add to the brothy soup. Top with halves of boiled eggs, green onions, sesame oil and soy sauce (if flavors blend with original soup), a little ginger, and juliennes of cooked meat.

from this (Wednesday dinner of stew)

to this (Thursday dinner of soup)

 
For my family this week, what I had leftover was beef stew. Leftover stew is also very versatile. Stew can be reheated and spooned over cooked rice, mashed potatoes, cooked noodles, biscuits, or toast. A smaller amount of leftover stew can also become soup for more. 

Tonight I added about a cup of water, 3 canned tomatoes (about the size of Roma tomatoes), chopped, and a large pinch of oregano to turn stew into soup. The canned tomatoes changed the flavor and added liquid. Since there was just a handful of beef chunks remaining in the stew, I fished them out and shredded into many bits before adding back into the soup. I wasn't concerned about protein from the soup, as the main protein tonight was an egg, cheese, bread, and veggie strata served on the side. 

Winning Ways With Leftover Stew

• Pot pie -- custard cups or small casseroles can be filled 3/4 with stew and topped with rounds of pie pastry or biscuit dough for individual pot pies. If filling needs stretching, add some mixed vegetables.
• Shepherd's Pie -- pour stew into a pie plate, stretching with additional vegetables as needed, and top with mashed potatoes then shredded cheddar. Bake until golden.
• Noodle Bake -- toss leftover stew with cooked noodles, spread in casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake until heated well throughout and cheese is melted.
• Stroganoff -- reheat leftover beef stew with sour cream or plain yogurt, mushrooms, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.
• Hash -- toss with cooked, fried potato cubes and heat through. A single to double serving of leftover stew can become hash for 4 to 6.
• thin it with additional broth and add more vegetables to transform stew into soup. If there are just a few cubes of meat, remove them and chop into smaller dices. 

There are some leftovers that I appreciate more than others. Leftover soup and stew offer so many possibilities that they are both high up on my list of preferred leftovers. Reimagining a meal is creativity with satisfying results that my whole family gets to enjoy. And as a bonus, using our leftovers prevents food waste and save money. Now I can't go wrong with that, can I?