Hearty vegetable soup

Today was cloudy/gloomy/rainy day. This morning when thinking about to make for dinner, I automatically thought of hearty nice soup. Soup is awesome on days like this. I had intended to make it in the crock pot, but that ended up not happening because I fell asleep during the kids' nap time. When I woke up, I didn't have time to make it in a crock pot, it wouldn't have been ready until 8 pm. So improvised and made it on the stove. I was going for a veggie soup, but I wanted meat in as well.

I started by boiling 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast. I always add salt to the water, and today I added some oregano and basil as well as a bit of garlic powder. Next, I poured 3 cans of lower sodium vegetable broth into a large pot. I didn't feel like that was enough liquid, so I added the leftover low sodium chicken broth I had from another recipe (about 14 oz).

I cut up about 10 baby carrots (you can use less or more depending on your preferences), chopped up 1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped 2 stocks of celery (you can use more, we just aren't huge celery fans), and minced 2 garlic cloves. Put about 2 tbsp olive oil in a meduim pan and add carrots, celery, and onion. Saute that for about 3-5 minutes, add the garlic and saute an additonal 30 seconds. Add that into the broth and bringing to boiling.

While waiting for that boil, cut your boiled chicken into small bite sized pieces, cut up your potatoes (I used 2 large red potatoes cut into small pieces, but normally I would use small new red potatoes), and green beans (I used frozen and did quick thaw. I used about 1/4 bag of frozen green beans and cut them into small pieces).

Drain your canned ingredients (1 can beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can corn). Add salt, pepper, bay leaves, and any dried herbs of your choice (I used basil) to your broth, just enough to add a bit of flavor).

You could really use any beans, I just happen to have a plethora of kidney beans in the pantry, so that's what I used. You could also use fresh corn, if you like, but I had canned corn on hand. This is pretty flexible for you to change up as you see fit. Once the broth is boiling, add in canned ingredients, potatoes, green beans, and chicken.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer covered for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve warm. This is very yummy, and much better for you than buying the canned soup. It is hearty with tons of chunks, and kid approved.