Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

Combine 6 cups vegetable broth frozen vegetables tomatoes with their juice potatoes onion barley garlic parsley oregano basil salt black pepper and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours.

Place flour in a bowl; cut shortening into flour using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/4 cup vegetable broth; stir with a fork until dough no longer sticks on sides of bowl. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface; roll out 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into strips or small squares. Add to slow cooker; cook until dumplings are soft and cooked in the middle 1 hour.