RECIPE:Chicken Vegetable Soup

I cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker for dinner the night before.  I put the stock in the fridge and the next day, remove the solidified fat from the top and use it in my soup along with the chicken meat picked from the carcass.  (The stock.  I use the stock in my soup - not the fat!) 

1 lb cooked chicken, cut up

2-4 cups chicken stock or broth, canned or homemade

1-2 cups left over tomato juice or V8 if you have some - optional

1 can petit diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped, sautéed

Salt & pepper

1 tsp rosemary

1 can beans (any kind you like)

Vegetables – any of these, in amounts and variations to taste

                Carrots

                Zucchini

                Mushrooms

                Corn

                Green beans

                Peas

                Yellow squash

                Spinach

Put the broth, tomatoes, chicken and seasonings in a Dutch oven and bring to a simmer.  Add onions, carrots (I slice very thinly on my grater), green beans and mushrooms if you are using them and simmer till all are near tender.  Add canned beans, peas, corn and spinach and simmer a little longer to heat.  If you are using squash, cook separately to desired tenderness and add before serving since they can get mushy very quickly.  (Or just watch them carefully as you simmer the soup.)

Variation: Add 3/4 cup barley to soup and let simmer for 20 min.