Slow Cooker Chicken Minestrone with Quinoa

Combine onion, carrots, fennel, garlic, broth, tomatoes, beans, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Top with chicken. Cover and cook 7 hours on low or 5 hours on high.

Discard bay leaf. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker. Stir in quinoa, kale, and green beans. Cover and cook on high an additional 30 to 40 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Combine onion, carrots, fennel, garlic, broth, tomatoes, beans, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in an instant pot. Top with chicken. Lock lid; set valve to sealing. Program for soup. When cook time ends, carefully move valve to venting to allow pressure to escape (quick release).

Open lid and discard bay leaf. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to instant pot. Stir in quinoa, kale, and green beans. Lock lid; set valve to sealing. Program for manual-high and 15 minutes. When cook time ends, carefully move valve to venting. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Combine chicken, onion, carrots, fennel, garlic, broth, tomatoes, beans, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large zip top freezer bag. In a separate freezer bag, combine quinoa, kale, and green beans. Package both bags in a third freezer bag and freeze. (Note: if freezing for use in an instant pot, it's helpful to put the bags in the insert and then in the freezer, at least overnight or until the meal is frozen solid. Then you can remove the insert and keep your meal frozen until ready to use. This makes it so the meal is in the correct shape for your instant pot and will fit inside with the lid locked without thawing first.)

To cook after freezing, add contents of first bag to slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours or on high 6 hours. Shred chicken and remove bay leaf. Add contents of second bag. Cook on low 1 1/2 hours or on high 1 hour, or until quinoa is tender. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

To cook after freezing, add contents of first bag to Instant Pot. Press sauté. Allow to heat until about 1 cup of liquid accumulates on the bottom of the insert. Press cancel. Lock lid; set valve to sealing. Program for soup. When cook time ends, carefully move valve to venting to allow pressure to escape (quick release). (Note, if preferred, reserve broth before freezing--don't add it to the bag-- and add it at the time of cooking instead. Then skip the step of sautéing and proceed directly to cooking.)

Open lid and discard bay leaf. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to instant pot. Add contents of second bag. Lock lid; set valve to sealing. Program for manual-high and 15 minutes. When cook time ends, carefully move valve to venting. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. (note: because the contents of the second bag are frozen, your IP might take longer to come to pressure even though the cook time does not change.)