Today's recipe is so timely!  Yesterday I got a wonderful e-mail from New England Country Soups telling me I was a finalist in their soup cook-off!  I am making this chowder.  I'm already excited as 5-6 of the other competitors I have competed against before and love mixing it up in the kitchen with them!  The finals will take place on March 5th in a professional kitchen.  What fun!  Anyway, let's get to the recipe...

Leftovers.  There are a lot of people that hate leftovers; I'm not too fond of them myself.  But then there are others, like K's boyfriend, who love leftovers.  If you have any types of meat and veggies in your fridge, this is the perfect soup for you.  It's a dinner that requires very little energy; I ate it two nights in a row and the second night tasted better than the first!  The flavors melded together, even John loved it and he is not a big fan of beans or homemade soups.

One can of beans, one can of chicken stock, and a cup and a half of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, and all the leftovers in your fridge and you have yourself a pretty tasty meal. 
Leftover Vegetable Soup
Serves: 4
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pasta, cooked
variety of vegetables
parmesan cheese, for serving

Combine the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, red kidney beans, and vegetables into a crockpot.  Let cook for 20 minutes on high heat.  Add pasta, cook for an additional 15 minutes and serve.

I used 4 potatoes, which I boiled until soft; 1 carrot, and 5 mushrooms, as those were the leftover ingredients I had in the house.  The next day I tossed some baby spinach leaves in it as well and it was delicious!

Until the next time my oven is on...