Re: More interesting the second time 'round?
I love soup, too, so I usually save leftovers and freeze them to later throw in a soup. I just made a wonderful beef stew where I used a cheap beef shank with the bone in (which adds tons of flavor). I simmered the meat for a while in broth until tender, then I took out the bone, broke the meat up and threw in some leftover veggies I'd frozen. I also added some extra cooked hamburger I had leftover, too. Then I thickened it up with a roux and cooked up some of those frozen Pillsbury biscuits. I actually just found out about those things and they are wonderful!! It's usually only my husband and I and I love it that I can bake only 3 or 4 biscuits at a time instead of having to bake the whole can of refrigerator biscuits.
Sometimes, I freeze leftover dinners to have on hand for my husband to take to work when he works late. Some things aren't so great frozen and reheated (like mashed potatoes), but some aren't so bad. I also freeze leftover meats and when I have a bunch, I'll throw them in the crockpot with tomatoes and some mexican spices and some green chiles, peppers, onions whatever I have on hand and let that simmer for a while then make enchiladas, tacos or chilli out of it. It's really even better than making it from scratch.