Awesome, Easy Veggie Recipe: Black Bean Soup

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light

We did it! My husband and I joined the Meatless Monday movement 2 weeks ago by pledging to go meatless once a week for all 3 meals. This week, with carnivorous leftovers in the fridge from Saturday night that begged to be eaten for lunch on Monday, we decided it was more economical to do our meatless day on Tuesday.

Since we are in the infant stages of our experience, we are still on the lookout for good vegetarian recipes. Today we made a delicious Black Bean Soup, served with cornbread. We started with dried beans, soaked them overnight, and let them cook in the slow cooker all day. They came out fantastic! I didn't feel deprived in the slightest, and this recipe simple and perfect for working people. Enjoy!

Note: I substituted a jalapeno for the serrano chile, as I didn't want it too spicy. Also, didn't bother with the cilantro - I'm not a huge fan.

Black Bean Soup

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

1. Sort and wash beans; place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain.
2. Combine beans, broth, and next 5 ingredients (through chile) in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 10 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in juice and salt. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each with 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.