SOUP from whole Ham/Turkey/Chicken Leftovers

Make the Stock (the ‘soup base’) in the Instant Pot

• Dump everything that's left over from cooking your meat into the instant pot: bones, fat, juices, scraps, innards.
  If you made an au jus and have extra, throw it in, too.
• Trim/peel/rinse/drain/cut up (as needed) whatever veggies/meat/beans you're going to put in your soup.
  I typically mix-and-match from this list:
  • leftover meat, cut into small pieces
  • carrots
  • onions
  • celery
  • green beans (fresh/canned)
  • tomatoes (fresh/canned)
  • potatoes (small chunks, or grated—I use my mandoline)
    Potatoes will darken after peeling/cutting, but since they're going into soup, it doesn't matter.
  • peas
  • other beans: kidney, chick peas, white, navy, etc.
  Dump everything that won't go into the soup into the instant pot together with the meat bones: peels, ends, etc.
  Yes, even the onion peels! Everything flavors the stock!
  Put the good soup ingredients in the refrigerator until the stock is done.
• Put in water (as needed) to fill the instant pot to your desired level.
• Manual, 40 minutes.
• Quick-release or natural release, your choice.
• Carefully STRAIN the ingredients into a large soup pot.
  (My soup pot is a Le Creuset, 16 quart, dark green.)
• Pick off any good meat pieces from the strained stuff (as desired) and put them into the soup pot.
  I give all the stuff that is left to my chickens!

Assemble the Soup

• Dump all your soup ingredients into the soup pot.
• Add additional broth/bouillon (chicken/beef/vegetable), as desired, to get the desired amount of soup.
  Don't dilute too much, though, or you'll lose the benefit of your delicious homemade stock!
• Bring to a boil, then simmer at least long enough to cook all the vegetables.
  My experience is that extra low simmering (hours, even!) doesn't hurt—the vegetables are softer, of course, but that never bothers me.
• Want to add noodles/pastina/alphabets?
  Cook them in a separate pot, drain, then add to soup close to serving time.
  Otherwise, they'll soak up lots of your soup broth!
• Want a creamy soup?
  Add your desired amount, choosing from the following:
  • cream or half-and-half
  • sour cream
  • greek yogurt
  • homemade thin white sauce
    per cup:
    
    • melt 2 Tb butter
    • whisk into butter: 2 Tb all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp salt, dash black pepper
    • gradually stir in 1 cup whole milk; stir until thickened
  Add close to serving time, and re-heat as needed.
• Want a garnish?
  Choose from the following to sprinkle on top of your soup:
  • cheese (cheddar, parmesan, other)
  • croutons
  • a dollop of sour cream
  • Be creative!

By the way, all the while you're making this soup, you're adding the most important ingredient—love!!