Bonnie's Black Bean Soup

Back in the mid 1990's, my friend Bonnie would bring a black bean soup to our company potluck luncheons.  Every time someone would ask, "How do you make this?", Bonnie would just laugh and answer, "Honey, if you can open a can, you can cook this soup!".  When Bonnie gave me the recipe, I wasn't content to leave the recipe as it was.  I had to change it up, and make it my own.  After a while, it finally became a Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Soup, but I still call it "Bonnie's Black Bean Soup".  So here is the soup, with my modifications, (highlighted in red).  This is all done in one pot, on the stove top, and takes less than 30 minutes - so it's a great weeknight dinner.  And, you can leave out the chicken to make it vegetarian - it's so versatile.

You will need:
1 Tabs olive oil
1/4 of a medium green pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup long grain rice
2 cans black beans
1 qt tomatoes
1 qt chicken stock
1 cup shredded chicken
salt/pepper
1 teas cumin
1 teas chili powder
cilantro (for garnish)

Chop your onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic clove.

You will have approximately 1/4 cup of green pepper, 1/2 cup of celery, and 1/2 cup of onion.

Shred 1 cup of cooked chicken, (white or dark meat, it doesn't matter). 

If you want to make this soup vegetarian, leave the chicken out.

In a large pot, over medium high heat, add one Tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped vegetables, and 1/2 cup of rice.

Add 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, (this will give the soup a nice smokey flavor).  You want to add it now, so the oil will release the flavor. 

Add 1 teaspoon of chili powder,  You are also adding this now, so the oil will release the flavor of the chili powder.  Don't worry, the soup won't be hot, it will just have the flavor of the chilies. 

Make sure to salt and pepper the vegetables and rice, (about 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper).  Stir every so often so the rice doesn't burn.  After the vegetables have started to soften, it is time to add the rest of the ingredients. 

You can either use canned tomatoes from the store, or home canned tomatoes.  Bonnie used to use stewed tomatoes, but I have substituted those with regular tomatoes and I use fresh vegetables above and saute them in olive oil.

Add in the tomatoes, use a spoon to break up the tomatoes.

At this point, Bonnie would also add 1-16 ounce jar of salsa, but because I modified the soup, and added the cooked vegetables, I have eliminated the salsa.

You can use either 2 cans of store bought chicken broth, or one quart of homemade chicken broth.

Note: If you are going to make the soup vegetarian, you will need to substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Add the chicken broth to the soup pot.

Add the 2 cans of beans, no need to drain the beans.

Add the shredded chicken.  Give the soup a good stir, to incorporate everything.

Add a tight fitting lid, bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked.

And your soup is ready to serve.

Garnish with cilantro.

And you have a hearty, satisfying soup for a cold winter day.  The beans and the chicken give plenty of protein.  You can add a salad or a half sandwich to round out your meal.  Sometimes I also garnish the soup with a sprinkling of shredded cheese or tortilla chips.

This soup has a wonderful flavor, and is very filling.

Give it a try, and let me know what your family thinks.  You can change out the meat, or don't add meat.  You can double the amount of beans.
Enjoy!