Hamburger Chowder

I had a ton of leftover potatoes, carrots and cabbage from the corned beef and cabbage. I didn't have that much corned beef left, so instead of making a CB&C soup, I made a hamburger chowder with my leftover ingredients and a pound of ground sirloin. We used to go to a restaurant where the chef made this every week when I was a kid, and I loved it.

I sauteed a quarter of a large yellow onion, two stalks of chopped celery, and some minced garlic in olive oil. Then I added the sirloin and browned it. You can drain if you want, but there was minimal fat.

I added 8 cups of beef broth to the pot and brought it to a boil, then added 1/2 c of barley for some substance. During the last 10 minutes of simmering, I diced up my leftover potatoes, carrots and cabbage and added them to the soup to warm through (they were already cooked). If yours are not cooked, add them during the last 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how done you want them.

I served this with a slice of my leftover Irish Soda Bread, which turned out very nice and artisan bread looking. It's a very rustic, heavy loaf.

This dish was resourceful, creative and used up my leftovers instead of wasting. Everyone is focused on being resourceful and efficient right now. Using leftover ingredients doesn't have to mean you eat the same meal over and over. You can create something new with it. Last night I ate this, tonight I added egg noodles to the bowl to give a little different twist.