Ditch the Thanksgiving Leftovers . . . unless you are making this!

Yesterday I told my fitnesses classes that my one tip of the day was to THROW AWAY ALL THE LEFTOVERS!  It was time!  Get the sweet potato casserole, any casserole, leftover pies, breads, you name it,  out of the kitchen.  However, don't throw away the leftover vegetables!  You never know what you can do with those.Our leftover veggies came in quite handy.  Have I ever mentioned that sometimes I hate to go to the grocery store?  Sometimes I admit I am just too darn lazy and will try to get away with making do with what we have.  Sometimes it's quite genius and others, well, not so much.This time my laziness came through for me!  I began mulling over what we had in the fridge.  Likely, you had some of the same things.  I remembered an old Tuscan Kale Soup recipe I had done in the past.  Only we didn't have any kale.  Shocker, I know.  It all went into the dressing.  But, surprisingly, earlier in the week I had a friend bring over fresh collards straight from their farm.  How about that for living right in the middle of the city?  It made me feel like I was right back in South Georgia.  Anyway, I knew I wanted to use them.  We also had leftover sweet potatoes, haricot verts, celery, onion, fresh thyme and a ton of chicken broth.  The only thing I couldn't find was diced tomatoes, but we did have a leftover bottle of Zing Zang from making Bloody Marys.  Score!  That would give it a nice tomato color, taste and a little kick.We were in business.  And what better way to wind down the weekend of overindulging than with a good old fashioned vegetable soup.  Here's what I did.  Modify it with what you have on hand!LEFTOVER VEGETABLE SOUP1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed1 tablespoon olive oil1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)chopped sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 cups)haricot verts, about 1 1/2 cups4 clove garlic, minced1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable brothZing Zang OR 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes2 cups torn fresh collards OR chopped baby spinach OR Kale Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, haricot certs, thyme,  1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.Add the broth and Zing Zang and bring to a boil. Add beans and the collard greens and cook until the collards are  wilted, about 3 minutes more.         This is the soup that keeps on giving!  I've had it for two dinners and just had it again for lunch today.  It's that good.  So, get rid of most of those leftovers, but keep those great, healthy vegetables!  Get creative.What do you do with your leftovers?  How many meals can you make out of turkey?  Aren't those collards just beautiful?  Thank you for bringing them over!Have a great day!