Healthy Black Bean Soup

The winter chill is upon us and our menu for the week or two has lots of soups on it! Warm the body up from the inside out-- this is one of our favorites and we enjoyed it tonight as the temps plunged under 20 degrees-- Brrr! This can be adjusted to your tastes-- like it spicier, add some chili powder or hot salsa or jalapenos-- it's a great base recipe that can be personalized to your tastes-- but here is how we enjoy it!

First, we add two spoonfuls of oil-- we used coconut, but olive oil is just fine and dandy (also, if you've never used coconut oil before, this is not the recipe to begin-- stick with some evoo and it will be delicious!)

Next, add a tablespoon of minced garlic. Notice my handsome helper? This is also a good recipe to make with your kids-- lots of fun and they get bragging rights at dinner.

We chopped one medium onion and one bell pepper-- don't worry about the size because this is one of those times where size doesn't matter!

We sauteed all of that with a few red pepper flakes and salt and pepper (this up to you on how much) and breathed in the heavenly aroma (disclaimer-- this soup will also open up your nasal cavity-- esp. if you lean on the spicier side of things-- added bonus if you have a cold!).

Next, we added two and a half cups of vegetable broth. We just made a Big HUGE batch two weeks ago and yeah, well, thats why we are going to be immersing ourselves in soup! I can't wait-- literally, I LOVE soups in the winter!

Anyway, back to the current pot of soup-- next, we added two cups of water.

Now, onto the beans-- the star of the soup! We added three cups of rinsed black beans-- a little nervous about how much you like black beans-- cut it back to two and just add one cup of water-- see, you can totally adjust this to your tastes!

We added one cup of salsa.

A tbs. of cumin and a bay leaf.

Now let it simmer to a low boil for about 20 minutes. While we wait, here is what we were up to this weekend:

Our Baby got dedicated-- it is such an honor to raise all of our children in the ways of the Lord and keep ourselves accountable with our church body as their parents. Our daughter celebrated a birthday and we had a fun afternoon celebrating with family. She is such a delight to our family-- she adds the sugar and spice for sure!

Okay, back to our soup-- time to blend it up. I start on low and then high (time will depend on your blender).

At this point it looks like mud-- but I promise you, it tastes amazing!!

If you stop here, it's completely vegan-- but we couldn't help ourselves and added a small scoop of sour cream and sprinkled on some cheese.

It was delicious!

I hope this soup makes it on to your table and would love to hear what you and your family enjoy on cold winter evenings! "Soup is a lot like a family-- each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor."- Marge Kennedy