Surgery Soup

4 cans chicken broth
4 chicken breasts
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 small bag frozen veggie mix
1 cup pearled barley

Add chicken, broth, spices to a large stock pot and simmer long enough to cook chicken (30 minutes). Add veggies and barley. If you add dry barley, add 2 cups water to the soup for the barley to absorb. Simmer for another half an hour. Divide into containers, some for fridge, some for freezer. We usually make this when we have had someone have surgery (usually us)so we keep it simple.

*If veggie mix contains okra, simmering for a while will thicken the soup and give it a bit of a color change. That's what happened when I cooked this batch of soup with frozen "soup veggies" and waited for it to cool. Still tastes good.