Souper Easy Dinner

The beginning of fall sends me to the lower cabinet by the fridge where I keep my two large crock pots. For the next 6 months at least one of those pots will be in use, often with a soup.

Y'all asked for recipes last week so I'll share two I make often -- a Mexican soup and a chicken-vegetable. We just had the chicken-vegetable last week after the middle school football game. So I'll tell you about that one today (pic below is from my son's second serving). It's not necessarily pretty but it is colorful, healthy and easy!

I don't have a recipe for this one; I just made it up. So this is more of a guide than a recipe.

I usually use a mix of fresh, canned and frozen veggies. I always use a frozen soup veggie blend, a fresh onion, and a can of diced tomatoes. Oh and it must have frozen okra in it also. Trust me on that, even if you think you won't like it. If I have some fresh celery to chop, or a zucchini to slice, or some cabbage in my fridge, I'll throw that in too.

Both fresh and frozen (uncooked) chicken breast work.

Ingredients:

Chicken Broth or Stock - 32 oz carton or maybe a couple of cans

Chicken Breasts - (2-3)

Frozen soup mix veggies -2 bags

(contains carrots, celery, corn, green beans, lima beans, potato, okra)

Onion, chopped - 1 medium

Diced tomato - 1 can, undrained

Spices:

Bay leaves - 2

Basil leaves - 2 (or a couple shakes of dried basil flakes)

Thyme

Celery Salt

Parsley

Lemon Pepper

Garlic Powder

Chicken Bullion

Salt and Pepper

Spice to taste (once the chicken is safely cooked through). The garlic, lemon pepper, and thyme are the strongest flavors in this list. I typically put all three in, but often I choose one of the three to "feature" a little heavier than the others.

Cook Time: I cover and cook the ingredients for 4 hours on high with a moderate amount of the spices. Then I lift the crock out - break up the cooked chicken with a fork - and put the crock in the fridge until the day I want to serve it. I pull it out on that day and put it on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. I finish spicing to taste about a half hour before serving. I find soups taste noticeably better if you let the flavors meld together for a day or two in the fridge before reheating and serving.

Serves: I make a crock pot full, which the four of us will eat over 2 different nights spread through out a given week - you can obviously make less. I serve it with crusty bread & butter, cheese toast, Ritz crackers, or cornbread. Else I add a sandwich.

Experiment and find which veggies you like to use, which spices and how much bullion brings it to a flavor you love. Later this week I'll make and post the Mexican soup I adore.

Bon Appetite!