Italian Chicken Lentil Soup

serves 6

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 med onion, chopped (1/2 cups)
1 med zucchini, chopped (2 cups)
4 med carrots, sliced (2 cups)
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
4 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c chopped fresh or 1 T dried basil leaves
Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Remove fat from chicken. In 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker, mix remaining ingredients except mushrooms, tomatoes, basil and cheese. Add chicken.

Cover and cook on Low heat setting for 5-6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker; place on cutting board. Use 2 forks to pull chicken into shreds. Return chicken to cooker. Stir in mushrooms and tomatoes. Cover and cook on Low heat setting about 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with basil. Serve with cheese.

This was DELICIOUS! It's been a long time (okay, I've only done it once...) since I've done chicken in the crock pot b/c it was such a disaster the first time I did it. But this soup was amazing. I didn't use shrooms b/c Alex is not a fan. We had a ton of leftovers since it's just the 2 of us.