Soup is a great frugal, potentially delicious meal that can successfully be made from leftovers. It's a great way to "waste not, want not" because, potentially, you can get a free meal for your efforts.

But I'm not talking about just dumping stuff in a pot willy-nilly. There's a method here to making really great soup from ingredients that you've become accustomed to tossing out.

Use wisdom when making soup from leftovers. While soup is a great way to disguise certain food items, generally, if your family members didn't like it the first time, chances are slim they will like it better in soup. You can make a good soup from what you have provided it is still fresh and something everyone liked the first time.

A great starting point is Thursday Night Soup, which got its name from the fact that workers were traditionally paid on Friday, so, by Thursday night, they'd be using up whatever they had left.

Read through this recipe and you will get a basic idea of the parts of soup: fat, onion, liquid, seasonings and fillings.

THURSDAY NIGHT SOUP

3 medium onions, chopped

3 tablespoons oil

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

4 cups water

4 beef bouillon cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 to 2 cups leftovers, cooked or raw (see below for explanation)

1 to 2 cups liquid

condiments to taste

In a kettle over medium heat, saute the onion in the oil until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Reduce the heat, and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add water, bouillon, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme and sugar. Cook 5 minutes uncovered.

Add up to 2 cups solid leftovers — carrots, celery, potatoes, peas, snap beans. These may be raw or cooked. If raw, mince or slice very thin, and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until tender before adding. If cooked, simmer about 5 minutes before serving. Cooked fish or meats may be added; beef, hamburger meat, chicken, turkey and veal are also good. Cube and cook for 5 minutes before adding.

Frozen vegetables, meats or fish may also be added. Cooked dishes may be added — for instance, rice dishes, stews, pasta leftovers, creamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. Raw spaghetti, noodles and rice work well, but these will require simmering for 12 to 15 minutes covered.

Add up to 2 cups liquid: milk, cream or buttermilk; any leftover soup that isn't cabbage-y; the cooking water of vegetables, tomato juice, gravy, wine, etc.

Taste, and season. Add more salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, wine, Worcestershire sauce or those herbs that go so well with tomato-flavored soups — oregano, basil and rosemary. One-quarter teaspoon each (dried) is sufficient. Cook 5 minutes after the final seasonings have gone in, and then serve.

Now that you see how to use almost any kind of leftovers to make homemade soup, get creative. Be brave! The possibilities are nearly endless.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at [email protected], or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.