Tomato Black Bean Soup

Poor Tom.  I swear almost every time I cook a big meal there's something that I forget or that I run out of in the middle of cooking.  Then, I look at him, bat my eyes, and say "Tom?  Would you mind running out for ..."  And he's the best husband ever, so he usually will do it.  I don't know why I thought one small can of beans would be enough to make black bean soup.  Well, it wasn't.  So, this dinner is courtesy of Tom running to the store to get 2 more cans for me.

I didn't really consult a recipe for this soup.  I just figured I'd throw together some tomatoes, black beans, onion, garlic, etc and it would work out.  And it did.  I also had just made a big pot of homemade chicken stock, so that had me thinking about soup.  This is a good weekday meal because you can used canned beans and tomatoes and throw it together in about a half hour.

Tomato Black Bean Soup


1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes
3 small cans of black beans, NOT drained or rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (you can also leave the seeds in if you want a little more kick)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream for garnish

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.  Add chopped onion and garlic.  Cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

2. Add jalapeno and saute for another couple minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and black beans.  Do not rinse or drain any of the cans of tomatoes or beans, just add everything in.

4. Add 3-4 cups of chicken stock, until it is soup like consistency.  Stir everything together.  Add spices and stir again.  Bring to a slight boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors mix together.

5. Once everything has simmered for a bit, you can blend some of the soup to thicken it.  If you have an immersion blender, you can blend it until it's a consistency you like.  If you want it all totally blended smooth, that's fine, or if you want some beans and tomato chunks left, that's fine too.  If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the soup to a blender in batches and blend until smooth.

6. Taste the soup once you've blended to the consistency you want.   If you want it a bit spicier, add some cayenne pepper (a LITTLE at a time!), if you want a smokier flavor, add a little more cumin and chili powder, or if it's not salty enough, add a little salt.  Salt will depend on the stock you're using.  If you're using canned stock, chances are you won't need much salt.  If you're using homemade stock, you may need to add a little salt.

7. To serve, add a little shredded cheddar cheese and/or a dollop of sour cream on top of the soup.  And spinkle some fresh copped cilantro too if you're feeling fancy.

Baked Potato Soup

We are currently getting slammed by not one, but two back-to-back snowstorms that are piling on another 12-18 inches on top of the feet of snow we already had.  It's crazy out there, our snowbanks are taller than we are.  I was playing queen of the mountain climbing up our snowbank by our house tonight just to shovel off the top so we can add more to it tomorrow.  Our dog doesn't know where to do her business when we go outside.  Our backyard is totally blocked off until spring at this point.  Weather like this always makes me want soup.  This soup is heavy, in a good stick-to-your-ribs kind of way.  A medium sized bowl of it with a piece of bread to mop it up is definitely filling enough for dinner.  Or a small cup of this with a salad would be perfect if you want to lighten things up a bit.

I listed crushed red pepper flakes in the recipe.  I like this soup with a little zip to it.  This time, I skipped this because I had habanero flavored cheddar cheese that was spicy enough on its own.  If you don't like spice, just leave the pepper flakes out.

I started making this soup from a recipe I found online but even from the first time I made it I adapted it heavily.  Now it doesn't really even resemble the original recipe enough to credit it.  This time I added some chopped up bacon bits and scallion to it as well which I haven't done in the past but I think they're both good additions.

Baked Potato Soup


6 large baking potatoes
6-8 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup of milk or cream
1/4 sour cream (you can skip this if you're using cream instead of milk)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
3 scallions (green and white/green parts) finely chopped

1. Pour chicken broth into large stockpot.  While it's coming to a boil, peel the potatoes and chop into small 1 inch pieces.  Add to boiling broth.  Boil until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  The pieces should kind of fall apart when you stick them with a fork.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, cook the bacon until fairly crispy.  Once done, pat with a paper towel and chop up into small bits.

2. I don't have an immersion blender, so once the potatoes are done, I scoop cups of the potatoes with the broth into a blender and mix until smooth.  This part is cool, the starchiness of the potatoes makes the mixture really thick and kind of gluey.  Do this in batches until all of the potatoes have been blended smooth.  If you had an immersion blender, you could just stick it right in the pot and blend until smooth.

3. Put the blended mixture back on the stove on low.  Mix in grated cheese, milk or cream, sour cream, and red pepper flakes.  Let the flavors mix together for at least 5 minutes, then taste it.  The red pepper flakes are pretty spicy, and they get spicier the longer they're simmered, so don't taste it right after you add them and then add more thinking it's not spicy enough.  And if the soup is too thick, add a little more milk or chicken broth.  If it's too thin, add some more grated cheese.

4. Towards the end, add the bacon bits and scallions.  Let it simmer about 5 minutes more and then serve, preferably with crusty bread.