Smokey Black Bean Soup

For some reason we always have a ridiculous quantity of black beans in our pantry. Every time we go to the store, we buy a couple of cans of black beans. But we rarely use them. Not sure why. Every once in a while Mike will make this AWESOME dip using the black beans, but mostly they just hang out in the pantry. I finally got inspired to use them, though, after seeing this recipe online. I found it on www.food.com, and for once, I actually changed very little. I swapped olive oil for the vegetable oil, and I left out the green pepper, since I am still off nightshades with the diet. And I might have added a little more carrot than it called for. But other than that, followed it really closely!

The official name of the soup, according to Food.com, is T.G.I. Friday's Black Bean Soup. Well I have never had TGIF's black bean soup, so I can't vouch for whether or not this is the real deal, but I will tell you it is pretty darn tasty, healthy, and the smokey flavor is really wonderful!

 So you start with the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. I used my dutch oven for this because, well, I love my dutch oven and I don't really need any more reason than that, do I?

 I pureed a few cups of the beans and put the rest in whole, and added all the other ingredients, just like the recipe said.

Brought it to a boil, simmered for almost an hour, and it was awesome!

 I added avocado to mine (since that is within the Anti-Inflammatory Diet I am on). Mike added cheese and sour cream to his.

The original recipe can be found here, or you can use my adjustments as indicated below:

Smokey Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup of diced carrot
5 Garlic cloves, minced
4 cans of Black Beans ***if you are following an Anti-Inflammatory Diet, I recommend using Bush's Brand beans. Other brands are often canned with sugar, and Bush's beans are sugar free.
4 Cups of Chicken Stock
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Hickory Liquid Smoke

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat.

Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the oil and saute slowly (or"sweat" as it's called), for 15 minutes or until the onions are practically clear.

While you cook the veggies, pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse them under cold water.

Measure 3 cups of the drained and strained beans into a food processor with 1 cup of chicken stock. Puree on high speed until smooth.

When the veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans, the whole beans, the rest of the chicken stock, and every other ingredient in the list (down to liquid smoke), to the pot.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until soup has thickened and all the ingredients are tender.