Soup from the fridge and garden

I need a soft dinner tonight. My eldest had new bands put on her braces and is a bit tender. Tuna melts fit the bill. I had some leftover hamburger buns so used those for the “invalid” rather than our usual English muffins. At the last minute…well, sometime during the last 45 minutes or so I decided to make some soup as well. Soup and sandwiches are a favorite in the winter although not normally in the summer. But I wanted to get some vegetables into the kids and soup’s always an easy. They’re getting a bit tired of sliced (fresh from the garden) tomatoes or sauteed squash and tomatoes. And dang, I just now remembered that I found a few green beans on a late plant and was going to add those to the soup but forgot! Anyway, what I did hardly amounts to a recipe but does go to show you a) how to use up some bits and pieces of leftovers and b)how to use some miscellaneous fresh vegetables.

I pulled some chicken broth from the freezer, about 6 cups, and started microwaving it to melt. In the meantime, I heated 1/4 cup or so of olive oil in my soup pot, peeled and chopped and onion and added it to the pot and left it to soften a bit while I fixed the rest of the vegetables. I had a yellow squash from the garden and a few tomatoes from the garden, so sliced and diced them. When the onion had softened a bit, I put the chicken broth in, although half of it was still frozen. It melted quickly enough and when it started simmering I added the yellow squash and carrots.

I looked through the refrigerator and saw the leftover cooked carrots from last night, a small bowl of chopped lettuce from tacos the other night, and a bit of leftover salsa. I added them all to the pot.

I debated about adding some rice or pasta but decided on lentils instead. They cook up quickly and are healthy–what a bonus! I threw in half a cup or so.

I added some chopped parsley and dried thyme, salt and pepper, then tasted. Once the lentils were cooked, about 30 minutes later, I pronounced it done and served with some grated Parmesan at the table.

Later, I spied some leftover pinto beans from the same taco night and thought I might add them tomorrow night or for my lunch tomorrow. I like adding a bit as I serve the same soup again so it tastes a bit different each night.