Everything But ... Soup

Yesterday was one of those days that I was freezing cold and looking to spend some time with friends. So at lunchtime I threw together a soup, and it was WONDERFUL! The best thing about it? There's not really a recipe and virtually no salt at all. Here's how to do it:

1. Open the freezer.
2. Pull out random vegetables, paying particular attention to those that rarely get eaten. I used spinach, lima beans, peas, corn, onion, zucchini, squash, green beans.
3. Open two cans of diced tomatoes and dump them (juice included) into a crock-pot.
4. Add a pinch of basil, parsley, and salt. Add about a teaspoon of black pepper and two bay leaves.
5. Put 1-2 frozen chicken breasts (still frozen) on to boil on the stovetop with bay leaves and parsley. While they cook, dump the frozen vegetables in the crock-pot.
6. Cut any "dangerously close to the trash" vegetables from the fridge and put in crock-pot. I used mushrooms, carrots, potatoes.
7. When the chicken finishes, shred it and throw it in the crock-pot.
8. Leave the crock-pot on high until everything is cooked and smelling great. I let it cook about 3 hours or so. If you use potatoes, you might want to add them in the last 45 minutes or so to prevent them from getting too mushy.

mmmmm....

I love this soup with grilled cheese or cheese and crackers. It's hearty, filling, and very good for you. It's also a great way to smuggle veggies to those that don't like them as much -- like the spinach, which cooks down so much you don't even notice it. For a little extra "girth" to this soup, add cheese tortellini, rice, quinoa, or barley.

ENJOY!