Oh, Bother

That is what Drew always says when he is "cross," thanks to his new buddy Thomas the Tank. I'm cross that I left my camera at my parents house this weekend, so I have no way to document my meals for a while! Bother!! :)

Nonetheless, here is a quick recap of whats simmering at my house tonight... What's better than a bowl of soup on a rainy "fall-ish" night like tonight?

I make this often, and I love it because I usually have enough of the ingredients on hand to make it at the end of the week when my fridge is empty and a trip to the store is in order.

It pairs nicely with some grilled cheese sandwiches!

Spicy Black Bean and Tomato Soup
*serves A LOT. but as Kate Gosselin says, (while publicly berating her husband while he makes her dinner) "what's the point if you do all the work and don't have enough for leftovers??"


In a skillet, sautee

• 2 slices of chopped bacon (OMIT for vegetarian!)
• a few stems of chopped celery
• 1 to 2 yellow cooking onions, chopped
• a couple cloves of garlic - as much or as little as you want
• 1 chopped carrot

Let soften up for a bit (5 minutes?), before adding the following spices

• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chipotle chile pepper (again, as much as you can handle, this stuff is spicy, and I like spicy. Its similar to cayenne ground red pepper but with chipotle which gives the soup a smoky taste.)
• salt and pepper
• grate the rind from one lime

Let it sautee together a bit longer before adding your canned ingredients:

• 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, do NOT drain
• 2 14.5 oz of canned black beans. I like to give them a rinse in the colander in addition to straining because I hate the gooeyness on the beans.
• About 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock, or more if you like it "soupier"

Let all ingredients simmer for 20 minutes or so over medium heat. Transfer to a blender (don't forget to leave your top off! Your blender... get your mind out of the gutter) and puree. I like to leave mine a tad bit chunky.

Transfer to a soup pot and squeeze in the juice from that lime you grated earlier as well as some fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt if you're feeling crazy.

*****KID TIP: I've been known to slather a layer as "tomato sauce" on homemade pizzas for the kids. Drew has no idea he's licking up beans, tomatoes, carrots, onions!

I'm headed to a track workout tonight, but given the cold rainy weather, this oughtta warm me up when I get home!