RedGage

Christmas and New Years have come and gone. The tree has been put away for another year. Now to tackle those holiday leftovers. The party tray leftovers can be used for a variety of salads, sandwiches,wraps and soups. The same can be said for the holiday ham, Christmas roast and side dishes. Today, focus on the vegetables.Holiday Leftover Vegetable Beef SoupTake a little of that roast and almost every vegetable on hand and combine it with a few simple ingredients for a tantalizing hot soup to warm those cold bones on winter days yet to come.Ingredients:

• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs leftover cooked beef, chopped (or may use thinly sliced leftover steak or cooked ground beef
• 64 ounces beef stock or beef broth
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• Italian seasoning, to taste
• ketchup, to taste
• 2 cups of cooked green beans
• 2 cups of cooked green peas
• 2 cups of cooked corn
• 2 cups of cooked carrots ( use the carrot sticks from the party trays, cook and chop into pieces)
• 2 cups of cooked diced potatoes
• cherry tomatoes and chopped green or bell pepper if desired (party tray leftovers)
• 1 (32 ounce) can of vegetable juice or tomato juice
• 1 packet of instant au jus or instant onion soup

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook onions, celery, and garlic in butter or oil until onions are golden.
2. Stir in the chopped cooked beef.
3. Add the beef broth, vegetable juice and the Worcestershire, stirring to mix, and seasoning to taste with Italian seasoning and ketchup (how much you add will depend on how seasoned the beef and broth already are, so be careful here).
4. Once the soup base is set, add the vegetables one by one
5. Add the au jus or instant onion soup and additional water or beef broth if needed.
6. Let the soup simmer on the stove for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
7. Cool, divide into cartons and containers and freeze until needed

More Ways To Use LeftoversDepending on the food choices, many soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps can be created fromholiday leftovers. Chop fresh veggies and add lettuce and fresh spinach for a fantastic dinner salad. Chopped fresh veggies can also be added to meat and cheese leftovers to make great deli style sandwiches and wraps. Let nothing go to waste. So much money was spent during the holidays. These frugal recipes will start the new year off right.