Black Bean Soup

In my quest to be a fancy cook I forgot about some of the easy and tasty recipes I have on hand. I’ve started going to Zumba on Tuesday nights with one of my friends and this has prompted me to make Tuesday meals very very simple. Soup and sandwiches just seems like the right fit. I always have frozen left over soup in the freezer and husband and I started making sure we have sandwich supplies on hand at all times.

Some of my soup recipes take lots of time to make and the results are totally worth it. But this recipe is very quick and I usually have all the ingredients on hand so it could easily be a pantry meal if we ever got stuck in the house because of a snowstorm. Most black bean soups require you to simmer for hours but since this one uses salsa most of the flavors have already mingles together.

Even though there are only three ingredients you can easily customize this soup for your tastes. If you don’t like a lot of heat go with a mild salsa. If you like super spicy soup make sure your salsa is hot. I typically use my dad’s salsa and honestly I’m not always sure what the heat index will be until I take my first taste. Husband and I cool things down a little bit by adding some sour cream if it’ too spicy. This soup is also very good served with a side of cheese quesadilla, kind of a twist on the tomato soup with grilled cheese combination.

Enjoy!

I halved the recipe and used dad's Zesty salsa!

1 c. salsa

30oz. black beans
2 c. chicken stock

Heat salsa in a pot over medium high heat until it begins to simmer. Drain and rinse the black beans. Add the beans and chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and using an immersion blender process the soup until smooth.

Ladle into bowls and serve.