Stupid Easy: Thai Stone Soup Hack

Made by a very hungry and tired me.

The other evening, I got home from work after a boring day and a long commute.  I was starving.  The boys had gone for a bike ride, and no dinner was waiting for me, hot on the stove.  I then brainstormed what I could turn into a yummy dinner, quickly.

Fast forward thirty minutes and no trips to the store, and a very content me was sipping on some Trader Joe's Dunkelweizen while stirring a simmering, hearty soup, happily chatting to husband that yes, I did make dinner, it's all ready to go, see you soon.

What happened in those thirty minutes?  Well, I was hungry as f***.  I was almost hangry.  The fridge was near-empty (but we all know this is when the best meals are produced).  I was thirsty.  I reached for an ice cold beer (thankfully there).  Now, with a clear head, was time to carefully examine the fridge.

Hmmm...

There is a pot in there--leftovers?  Yes!  But no...  Only two cups of yesterday's lentil/bacon/greens/brown rice mixture were left.  This will not do to feed three hungry people.  I'll set it on the stove anyway...

What else, what else...  A container of my old standby, Trader Joe's pre-chopped mirepoix?  Excellent.  Let's pull that out.

This always makes me think of soup.  But what kind of soup?  I don't want a boring soup.  How about a Thai curry-style soup?

Luckily, in the fridge door, I found half of a small jar of Thai red curry paste from a previous recipe I did.  Let's set that on the counter.

Anything else?  Hmmm...  Maybe it's getting time to clean out the fridge.  What the hell is in that jar?

Oh wait, here is a fresh-ish one-pound bag of Trader Joe's chopped rainbow chard!  Pretty!  Okay, this is so going in the soup and this is going to be a delicious and nutritious soup.  What else can we do, broth-wise?

Let's look in the pantry...

Ah, my old reliable, Trader Joe's version of Better Than Bouillon, a little bouillon packet I can squeeze into this soup!  And, a can of coconut milk!  Now, I don't want it to be a sauce, so I chose to go with one can of coconut milk and two cans of water (one can of the water will simmer off).

Now, to start the recipe:

1. Over medium heat, warm up the leftovers, stirring.
2. Once they are broken up, add the mirepoix and a bit of olive oil.  Sautee till translucent.
3. Add Thai red curry paste and mix.  Add other spices here as you see fit (I wanted to keep it simple, so it was just this and some salt).  Mix until fragrant.
4. Add the chard or other greens.  Stir until wilted but not entirely cooked through.
5. Add the bouillon packet here (basically anywhere before you add liquid; I find it's easier to mix in at that point).
6. Stir until it all looks cohesive, broken down, melded.
7. Add in one can of coconut milk plus two cans of water and stir.
8. Let it simmer till the soup has reduced to your liking, and serve.  The boys ate it with toast, I had it as is.  You can add a dollop of cream or yogurt to it, too, if you want.
9. Yum!  Winning on an empty fridge!