Black Bean Soup with a Kick

To be quite honest, I'm not a fan of black beans, but I'm going to share this soup recipe anyway, because my husband Jeff informs me that it's quite possibly his new favorite.  In fact, Jeff ate almost half the recipe the first night I made it, although I'm probably not suppose to share that information.  Oh well..........

A great thing about this soup recipe, is that it's super easy to make, and once the ingredients are prepared, it only takes around 15-20 minutes to cook.  If you decided to place the soup into a regular blender though, instead of using an immersion blender, be careful and mix in two batches, filling only half full and really using your hand to press down on the lid.  If not, you might face a mess.  It's like I'm speaking from experience.  Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup with a Kick
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Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 carrot chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Garnish as desired.  Some options are: tortilla chips, salsa, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Directions:

In a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Next, add in the red pepper, carrot, garlic, and jalapeno pepper and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Make sure to stir around periodically.  Now add in the chicken broth, black beans, diced tomatoes/green chilies, bay leaf, cumin, chipotle powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Stir the ingredients together until well blended, and then bring the soup to a boil.  After that, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.

If you like chunky soup, feel free to serve it as is, or you may use an immersion blender or a regular blender to puree the soup.  Once again, if you use a regular blender, make sure you puree it in small batches.  Serve warm and garnish as desired. 

Source: Gimme Some Oven