Mexican Black Bean Soup

Hey Smidger’s!

This is Amy sharing one of Tim’s favorite’s with you today. I am not a good cook in this house. The real chef here is Tim. I do however bake and make soups. I think he just likes the breakfast the next morning the most to be honest. If you want to make this vegetarian you can just omit the Smoked Chicken and use vegetable broth. (We will teach you how to smoke chicken at a later date)

8 ounces Black Beans (soaked over night)

40 ounces of Chicken Broth (we use unsalted if you want vegan use vegetable broth)

1 Medium Onion

1 Carrot

3-5 Garlic Cloves

1 Large Smoked Chicken Breast Shredded (optional)

1 tsp of Chili Powder, Cumin and Chipotle Chili Powder

Juice of one lime

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish with Sour Cream and Cheese if you so desire

How to Make

First thing you need to do is soak your beans. Soak 8 ounces of dry Black Beans overnight.

• Finely chop Onion, Garlic, and Carrot (we like using a small hand chopper the one we have at the moment is a Pampered Chef one that works well.)

• Heat large soup pot with oil then add the chopped vegetables.Cook these until the onion is translucent you can add some salt and pepper here to help the onions sweat.
• Once the vegetables have cooked to translucent onions and tender carrots add the beans and toss around for a bit to get them warmed up

• Start adding your broth slowly and combine.

• Bring heat up till you get to a boil and add your spices, salt and pepper.
• Let simmer for a minum of 40 minutes. You may need to cook a bit longer it depends on your beans. You will want them to be tender.
• Once beans are tender take an immersion blender and puree the concoction. You can pull our a few beans so that they stay whole replacing them back into the soup once you have it blended.

• This is where you add your smoked shredded chicken if so desired (if you do not know how to make this you can get it from your local bbq restaurant just ask them not to sauce it for you)

• Bring back to a boil making sure that the seasoning (salt and pepper) is to your liking add the juice of one lime
• Serve up a bowl with some sour cream and cheese

Now I know what you’re asking. What was she talking about breakfast for in the morning with this? Well, my darling husband LOVES omelettes. Just simple cheese and eggs nothing extravagant here. When I have this on hand, he adds this on top of his cheese omelet with a touch of sour cream.

Well Smidger’s I hope you enjoy this recipe. I know it sure made Tim a happy guy. He ate it for a few days in a row. This also freezes well so you can make ahead.

 

Amy