Quick Black Bean Soup

Okay, so, originally I was going to make this soup with fried plantains and avocado cream, but things happened:

1. Turns out plantains are only alright. I need to practice cooking them a little more before I post about them.


 
2. I've been eating too much soy so the migraines came back. This means no soyogurt for my avocado cream.

Also, I really wanted to make this soup with dried black beans so it's nice and brothy, but all I had were canned ones. Thus, a speedier version of what I originally planned on making was born! I also cheated a little, using one can of seasoned black beans with one can of regular black beans. This will probably influence how your final soup comes out (if you don't use the seasoned kind), so you may need to add some more spice.

I was also craving potatoes like a madwoman (why...?) so I roasted a bunch of baby Yukons up and served them on the side. Talk about an awesome match! Filling too!

I mean, I am disappointed that I couldn't make my recipe fancy like I originally wanted too, but I'll definitely be making this later. And this soup was good as well, so I'm not complaining!

Quick Black Bean Soup:
1 (15 oz.) can seasoned black beans (labels say they're seasoned), drained a little
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Tb. minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
1 Tb. dried cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 c. vegetable broth
Avocado, cubed

1. In a soup pot sprayed with some nonstick over medium-high heat, saute the chopped bell peppers and onions until softened, about five minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the seasoned beans, regular beans, cilantro, and vegetable broth and bring the pot to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 30 minutes to meld all the ingredients together.
4. Before serving, mash some of the beans up with a fork to help thicken the soup a little, then serve with avocado cubes!


To make my roasted potatoes, I preheated an oven to 425F. I washed about 2 lbs. of baby Yukon potatoes (I just use them cause they're my favorite...), then cut them into smaller chunks. In a bowl, I tossed together the chunks with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder (I lurve garlic), until everything was all nice and coated. I then baked them for about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes were completely cooked and golden brown and crunchy on the edges. It was the perfect way to satisfy my potato craving!