Unboring Turkey Leftover Soups

Thanksgiving-Leftovers-Like-Never-Before Soup. To your 4 cups of stock, add in whatever leftover mashed potatoes you have (but not more than 4 cups). Mix thoroughly, until very smooth; a blender or food processor helps. Taste. If it’s not rich enough, add more gravy. If it’s too thick, add more water, milk, or some chicken stock. What about leftover stuffing? Use your judgment. It will make the soup thicker, which you may or may not want; if it’s on the sweet side, say with dried fruit or maple syrup, you probably don’t want that flavor in your soup. Blend or process again. At this point you have a richly flavored turkey-potato soup. You could stop here, sprinkle on some grated cheddar cheese, and call it good. Which it would be. But you can make it even better with the rest of the leftovers. Green beans? Dice into bite size. Brussels sprouts? Slice vertically or chop, although if you have leftover Brussels sprouts because no one liked them yesterday, for heaven’s sake don’t put them in the soup. Marinated mushrooms? By all means. And of course any leftover turkey. Make it colorful with short strips of red or orange bell peppers, if you have some. Add all these goodies, heat soup, serve, take a bow.