YUMMY Chicken Veggie Soup

I often come across recipes the day I use them. I'm pretty good at keeping fresh veggies and meat stocked (I tend to go to the grocery store once a week). So, I saw that I had some zucchini that needed to be used, and allrecipes provided me with this recipe. I tweeked it a bit, and here's what I ended up with:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used 10 baby carrots)
  
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used 2 small zucchini)
  
• 1 medium red or green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken and cook about 1 minute. Mix in garlic and onion; cook until tender. Stir in carrot, potatoes, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Pour in tomatoes with juice. Season with red pepper flakes, basil, broth and bay leaf, and continue cooking until vegetables are tender and chicken juices run clear. Season with salt and pepper just before serving.

I let this simmer on my stove on low for quite awhile, but I would guess it could be done in a 1/2 hour or so. It's definitely one that could be done in a crock pot. I'll definitely be making it again.