Leftover Duck Soup

Have you ever come home with a box of leftovers, only to wonder what to do with it? We often run into the quandry of only one person bringing food home, while the other polishes their meal off. The leftovers aren't really enough for two people, and you can't have "leftover night" with half a meal. We came across this quandry, and, while perusing the contents of my to-go box, I realized that I had the makings for a soup.

Here's my box of leftovers from The Restaurant--a duck breast, a scoop of citrus wild rice, and a few carrots and green beans.

I supplemented my leftover carrots and green beans with a regular soup base--carrots, onions, and celery.

They got a nice start to softening up in some olive oil.

While my regular vegetables were softening, I chopped up my leftovers (since my carrots and beans were already cooked, I gave the raw veggies a head start.)

Next, I added a box of chicken broth, as well as some salt and pepper.

Into the broth went a couple of handfuls of white rice, to complement the wild rice I already had.

Everything got a nice stir. While things were heating up, I remembered that I'd bought some dried mushrooms, so a handful of shiitakes got thrown into the pot too.

Yum. Looks good already.

Once the rice was nearly done, I dropped in my leftover duck to heat up.

Right before dinner, I noticed the soup was on the thicker side. I didn't want to open another can of broth, so I poured in some half-and-half instead.












You could do this with any leftovers. Got some steak and potatoes? Saute some onions and garlic, then pour in some beef broth, the steak and potatoes. How about fish? Make it into a creamy chowder with a roux, and make it heartier with corn and potatoes. Turn spaghetti into a tomato-pasta goulash soup. Make your leftovers taste as new and delicious as they did the first time around!