Many of our followers on Facebook have noticed a trend that I really like to use up leftovers and create something new. This helps keep the tiredness out of just reheating the same old thing with the added benefit of using up bits and pieces of things that otherwise would otherwise grow some colorful hair.
A recent weekend was no exception.
Sunday lunch was a great example of revitalized ingredients. There is no rule against adding other things. It is kind of like the TV show Chopped except the mystery ingredients are whatever bits of leftovers are in the refrigerator.
So the ingredient list looked like this: salami, a variety of peppers, some potatoes too tiny to use otherwise, a few ends of bacon, and some swiss cheese fondue. 
What to do?
My original lunch plan was potato soup. But why make plain potato soup when you can jazz it up?
Scrub the potatoes and boil with skins on in salted water until tender.
Render the bacon and salami bits in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in finely diced garlic and the peppers. The pepper selection consisted of couple poblanos, a sweet red cherry popper, a green bell, one jalapeño and a rooster spur. To mellow the heat some, seed and de-rib the hot peppers. Continue to sauté until the vegetables are tender, then add butter and flour, about a tablespoon of each should do.
This is a good place to acknowledge that there are no measurements for ingredients. I often cook this way and it is almost required when you are using up bits of leftovers. So what if your potato soup has 1/4 cup more peppers than mine? Or no peppers at all. Use what you like and what you happen to find.
Back to the soup.
Cook and stir until the flour is lightly browned. Add a half cup of milk or so and cook until thick. Continue to add milk slowly until you have the consistency you like. At this point, I added in the fondue and stirred until melted. This made a very flavorful base but just adding grated cheese makes a tasty soup as well. I added a bit more grated cheese; a bit of gruyere, manchego and fontina. Stirring until all of the cheeses were melted, the potatoes were added last. Gently heat, at a simmer until everything is heated through.
Serve in low wide bowls with a topping of more grated cheese. 
This is a flavorful, hearty and warming soup on a blustery day. Plus it uses up bits of things from the fridge that otherwise would go to waste.
There you have it. One way we use up leftovers to create something new.
While you’re here, check out our new store and pick up our own brand of lip balm: BEEk balm.
