Spicy Black Bean Soup

For a Tex Mex Taste that is not overwhelming, quick and hearty, this soup is wonderful. It is Tastee!

1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil (canola or olive are my choices)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Cups water
1 Can (14.5 ounces) chicken brothe or 1 and 3/4 Cups Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Coarsely choped fresh cilantro
lime wedges

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occassionally, until tender, 5 to 8 minues. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and crushed red pepper; cook 30 seconds. Stir in beans, water, and broth; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Spoon one-fourth of mixture into blender; cover, with the center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into bowl. Repeat with remaining mixture. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with wedges of lime. Makes about 6 and 2/3 Cups or 6 first course servings. Cooking and prep time APPROXIMATELY 30 to 45 minutes.

NOTES: Thank you Good Housekeeping for this great recipe. There are a couple other items that I did to change up the recipe. I cut up some sausage and sautee'd it until lightly brown, which was added to the soup after it was puree'd (approximately 1 Cup of sausage). This added texture to the soup. I also served the soup with a dollop of sour cream in the center, garnished it with the cilantro and a wedge of lime. Surprisingly enough this soup is not spicy hot. I thought it might be with the cumin as one of the ingredients. Squeeze the lime wedge into the soup and enjoy!

STRETCH--Your dollar!
You can purchase bulk cumin seed at a lot of grocery stores in the "Mexican" isle (they usually come in packets of about 1/3 a cup). If a recipe calls for ground cumin here's what you do. Turn on the back burner and place a non-stick small fry pan on the heat, add the desired amount of whole cumin. Toast the seeds until you can smell the pungent odor of the seeds heating up. Turn off the burner and remove the pan. Pour the seeds in a mortar and pestle or small spice grinder; render the seeds into powder. The result is a ground cumin for a fraction of the cost and a more 'fresh' taste to your ground cumin.

Don't have a blender or food processor? Check out the local Salvation Army or Good Will. With careful shopping you can find a great item like this for a small amount of money. 3 years ago, I found an unused blender for $5.99. I don't do anything fancy with my blenders so a basic blender covers my needs perfectly. Why go for the spendy, gadgetty, top of the market item when all you do is make a smoothy? It's a waste of money.

Finally, generic or store brand canned black beans work fine. You don't have to buy the name brand item to make this soup. DO look for salt free black beans or reduced salt. A little salt goes a long ways and if you are adding the sausage, you already have plenty of salt in that. The majority of the canned items on the market are all canned in the same plant. They just slap a different logo on the label.

Beth's Beef Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
4 pounds boneless stew meat
3-1/3 Cups Roma Tomatoes
1 onion quartered
3 onions chopped
6 stalks of celery chopped
1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste
3 turnips, peeled & diced
3 potatoes, peeled & diced
1 small head of cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup diced carrots, peeled & cut
1 Cup frozen green peas

Instructions:
In a large stock pot add the stew meat, 1 onion quartered, 2 stalks celery, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaf and enough water to cover everything.
Bring stock pot to a simmer and cook until beef is tender (approx. 2 hours).
Spoon out the beef and place in a bowl.
Using cheesecloth strain the broth of all onions, celery and gunk.
Replace the broth into the stock pot with the beef and bay leaf.
Add the rest of the chopped onions, celery, Roma tomatoes, turnips, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and barely enough water to cover everything to the stock pot.
Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Check the tenderness of the potatoes and etc.
If the potatoes are not tender cook an additional 5-10 minutes.
Add the frozen peas and any additional salt or pepper to taste.
Serve with French bread and if you like a green salad.

Notes:
Stew meat is not absolutely necessary. If you can find a sirloin steak or other beef on sale go ahead and use it. Just trim any extra fat off the cut of beef you are using and cut into bite size pieces.

Pasta Fagioli

Traditional Fagioli Soup is made with white beans but this is a quick, easy, and absolutely fabulous soup. If you make your own salt free chicken broth you will lower the salt/sodium content of the soup. And, DO NOT, substitute the Asiago cheese. This cheese absolutely MAKES this soup. I do not recommend anything else.

Ingredients
12 ounces Santa Fe chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced (such as Amy's)
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (this can be increased for more broth)
1/2 cup uncooked small seashell pasta
2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, un-drained
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese

Instructions:
Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add sausage; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add broth and pasta; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes.
Add tomatoes; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes.
Stir in basil, oregano, and beans; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Add the zucchini; simmer for 3 more minutes or until zucchini is barely tender.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups soup and about 1 tablespoon asiago cheese)

NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 319(26% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.3g,mono 3.8g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 21.9g; CHOLESTEROL 56mg; CALCIUM 56mg; SODIUM 858mg; FIBER 9.6g; IRON 4.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39.7g

Notes:
When I initially made this soup I could not find the Santa Fe Chicken Sausage. Don't panic, because you can use a mild or spicy Italian Bratwurst instead. Here's what you do. First of all place the Bratwurst in a pan with enough water to cover it. Bring the pan to a boil and cook approximately 15 minutes, until the Brats are thoroughly cooked. Place the pan under cold running water. This will cool it and run off excess fat. Peel the "skin" off the Bratwurst. Slice in half, then in quarters, slice into little pieces and place in a non-stick fry pan and pan fry the cut Bratwurst until lightly brown. This will also cook off any additional oil/fat. Follow the recipe from above and you have a EASY quick homemade soup that your family will enjoy.

Feel free to add the cheese into your individual bowls. This will allow each person to add their own amount to their own preference and make it personal. Serve with a nice loaf of Italian or French bread. Finally, just double the recipe to make enough for more than 4 people. Another GREAT recipe from "Cooking Light".