Not-so-quick but very easy soup

I first discovered/invented this recipe some years ago, visiting some friends who declared there was "nothing to eat" in their house. I didn't intend to prove them wrong, but I was able to whip up a delicious chunky vegetable soup (the friends are vegetarian) using what they had on hand. (I was probably fortunate that their fridge was reasonably well-stocked with vegetables.) Since then I've tweaked it and made it a bit more omnivorous, but it's really more of a guideline than a recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 large can tomato juice (what they call a number 10 can) - use low-sodium and add your own salt
  
• chicken stock (volume to 1/2 of the tomato juice can)
• 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• diced vegetables - onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, parsnip, celery, whatever you've got, just add lots of it!
• seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, etc.)
• hot sauce
  

Instructions

1. Basically, put everything into a big pot, bring it to a boil, and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly by water boiling off.
2. Add just a dash or two of a Louisiana-style cayenne hot sauce toward the end. It won't be enough to add much heat, but it will really bring the flavours out. (Of course, you can add more if you want to bring the heat - it's your soup!)

You can also omit the chicken and exchange the stock for water or vegetable stock if you really want to be vegetarian about it. This also reminds me, I really should post a recipe or link for making chicken stock one of these days...

Yeah, it's a simple recipe. Sometimes those are the best.