Garbage Day Soup

There is really no one way to make my Garbage Day Soup.  Basically, anything I would contemplate pitching in the garbage can join the club! Being a Wednesday, my typical "work at home" day, I went to work on checking my freezer for possible pitchables.  I had about a pound of ground beef in the refrigerator that needed to be cooked, so I set my sights on soup.

Here is a list of things that I found in the refrigerator or freezer that probably would have been pitched if not used soon...

Refrigerator
1 large onion that had been peeled, from another day, but I didn't use(I diced it)
10-12 less than attractive baby carrots that no one was willing to eat but were still fine(rough chop)
1/2 cup beef broth
3 cups chicken broth, but in two different containers
ginger root
1-2 cups red wine
red potatoes from my CSA this past summer
red cabbage from my CSA this past summer

Freezer
1/2 bag frozen stir fry vegies, fairly freezer burned
1/2 bag frozen peas
2-3 T tomato paste
2-3 T roasted garlic

Other items I used to make the soup

Soy sauce
Thai chili sauce
1-2 c frozen green beans
1-2 cups cooked mixed greens
1-2 cups frozen corn
Additional chicken broth


Here is what I did!

I browned the ground beef,  drained the grease and put it in a crockpot. I then sautéed the onion and carrots with some salt and pepper until the onions were translucent and then added the roasted garlic, 1-2 t grated ginger and cooked a few more minutes. I then added the tomato paste plus 2 T thai chili sauce and 3 T soy sauce. This mixture was then added to the crockpot and I deglazed the pan with the wine and broth and then added this liquid to the crockpot. The final step is to dump everything else in the crockpot and add enough chicken broth to make a stew or soup consistency. I added a bay leaf and some red pepper flakes as well.

My family look sceptically at this concoction but were all very pleased with the results...there was an asian feel to this soup due to the Thai chili sauce and ginger, but overall it was a slightly spicy vegetable soup with a little ground beef thrown in.  While I will probably never create the exact soup again, it felt good to use up all the odds and ends...it was kind of like creating free food and we have enough for an two lunches and another full dinner. My picture isn't the greatest, sorry about that! The camera I usually use was at my husband's office!



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