What’s for Dinner, Bitches: Installment Six

I’ve been cooking up a storm over here. Since we have four seasons in the Midwest, I usually get in a slump towards the end of winter. I get bored with my cycle of meals. I also get irritated with our lack of decent produce. Alas, the spring has arrived, and I’ve found my mojo again.

I love soup and chili. Considering I just said I was sick of cooking winter foods, you’d think that I’d given up on those two things. No! I love them! I can eat them year round. It could be 90 degrees outside and I’d have a hankering for some soup! Secretly, I think I love soup in the warmer months because then I can justify having ice cream! The soup made me hot (insert an annoying whine here).

Yesterday, was a rainy day. I felt the need for soup. I am still madly in love with Taste of Home Magazine. I’ve tried four recipes from the first issue alone and we have loved them all! I tried their Spicy Black Bean Soup yesterday and it was great. I have been looking for a good recipe for some time. I have tried several but none of them really met the mark. This one was great. It was easy and very, very tasty. I’ll be adding it to my trusty nerd recipe binder. I want to share the recipe with my fellow readers; Taste of Home won’t let me post a link (you have to be a subscriber) so I’ll type it in order to allow you all to see it. Oh, the lengths I will go…I typed it up below. 

Some other things I currently love:
homemade guacamole
Pink Lady Apples
coffee with hazelnut cream
salads with strawberries, apples and a bit of blue cheese
roasted almonds made especially for me, with love, from Bread


Spicy Black Bean Soup from Taste of Home
Prep: 25 minutes Cook: 40 minutes Yield: 12 Servings (3/4 cup each)

1 large red onion
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 TBSP. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1/3 cup sherry or additional vegetable broth
2 TBSP. minced fresh cilantro
Sour cream and cheddar cheese for topping

In a Dutch oven, sauté onion and peppers in oil until tender. Add garlic, cook 1minute longer.

Stir in the beans, broth, tomatoes and chopped green chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Add sherry and cilantro; cook 5 minutes longer.

Remove from the heat; cool slightly. Place half of soup in a blender; process until pureed. Return to the pan and heat through. Top with sour cream and cheddar.