Tasty Tuesday

Confession: This is the first time in my life that I have soaked beans. Like it is so hard or something :) I used my black beans I got in bulk from the cannery. I also used my own homemade chicken stock. I forgot the cornstarch, I took out a big bowl full of beans and then pureed the rest then threw the bowl of beans back in the pot. I added a little cheese and a dollop of sour cream and this is an awesome soup!

I loved it and so did the Sweetheart.

Zestified Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
2 cups dried black beans
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of homemade chicken stock or canned
1 10 oz. can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
2 Tbsp cornstarch

1. Soak black beans overnight in a bowl full of water. If you forget to soak, as I often do, then add the beans to boiling water, remove from heat and let soak for 2 hours. Once soaked, drain and rinse. More on cooking dried beans here.

2. Add the soaked and rinsed beans to large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Add the chopped onion, crushed garlic, cumin, lemon juice, and salt in with the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for about an hour.

3. After an hour, add the homemade chicken stock and the undrained can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies. Let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the beans have softened.

4. Then add the cornstarch. Sift and whisk at the same time to keep from getting clumpy in the soup! ( I forgot to add this)

Recipe from $5 Dollar Dinners .com

I Decided

I decided on Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Mmm Good!

Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Soup

3 whole bell peppers
1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon honey
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
fresh basil, if desired

Roast bell peppers until blackened in most places. (I usually do it over a gas flame, but you can also do it in the oven at 450 degrees.) Place peppers in a zip top bag for ten minutes. Remove from bag, remove stem and seeds and peel peppers, scraping with a knife. Chop coarsely. Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add peppers, onion, garlic, and carrot. Saute until vegetables are softened, about five minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, honey and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are softened. Blend soup in blender, food processor, or with immersion blender, until not almost smooth, but with some chunky texture. Add cream and heat until just below a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh basil, sour cream and croutons if desired.

Recipe from Prudy click here.

It was wonderful!!

Tasty Tuesday

Last week was a soup kind of week.

I made two new different recipes.

Both were wonderful and if you are looking

for easy, good soup, try one of these.

Over on "Our Best Bites"

last week they posted this great

recipe for Black Bean Soup.

It was really good.

Black Bean Soup
1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C diced carrots
(about 2 med carrots)
3/4 C diced celery
(about 2 ribs)
1 C diced onion
(about 1 sm-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 3.5oz can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 t kosher salt
1 dash black pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves
(if you use ground oregano, use 1/4 t)
1 bay leaf
Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese
Add olive oil to a large stock pot on med-high heat. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic about 4-5 minutes.
Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are soft.Remove from heat. Find that bay leaf and pull it out.
Place all the soup in a blender. Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the middle like the picture below. Place a paper towel over the hole though to avoid getting black bean soup burns all over your face.
Puree soup until completely smooth. I leave it in for several minutes. Return to pan and make sure it's heated through completely. Squeeze in the juice from one big lime.Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese, tortilla chips, etc. Serve with extra lime wedges.
Nutritional Information (1 C soup, w/o toppings):125 calories, 2g fat, 8g fiber2 Weight Watchers pointsSouth Beach Diet Phase 2 (eat carrots sparingly)

From Prudence Pennywise

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (14 ounce) cans Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chicken broth or stock
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 cup evaporated skim milk, or 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
chopped fresh basil or parsley for serving
In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add oniion and carrots and saute for five minutes. Stir in garlic and saute an additional minute. Add tomatoes, broth, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. For a creamy soup, transfer to blender and blend, or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. (Immersion blenders are a must have for soup lovers!) Soup can be made up to 2 days ahead of time to this point. Just before serving, add evaporated skim milk (or cream cheese of half and half) to pot. Warm through, but do not boil. Serve immediately with basil or parsley, and hopefully some warm focaccia.

Tasty Tuesday

HOPE YOU DO YOUR PART!

So glad I voted early!

I LOVE BROCCOLI!

So when I saw this recipe for

Broccoli soup on Mrs G. of

Derfwad Manor blog. I had to give it a try.

She hosted Nora of Whooping Cornbread

and as part of her 'Slow Cook Thursday'

post. Nora had this recipe for

Broccoli soup as part of her post.

I LOVE BROCCOLI!

Any where, any way, any how!

Cooked or Raw!

I have also discovered Roasted Broccoli !

Over on Smoky MT. Cafe.

Thanks Katherine, It's amazing!

So back to the soup, when I saw

how easy it was, I decide I needed

to make it. I love broccoli soup

but have never had the nerve to make it.

This was oh, so, easy!

Give it a try sometime.

I sprinkled Cheddar cheese on mine, m m good.

Broccoli Soup

Saute in soup pot: 2 T oil

1 onion, chopped,

(I used a good ole Vidalia onion)

Add: 5 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

(I used 3 cups of Chicken Stock)

1 tsp salt

White pepper to taste

1 tsp dried basil

Bring to boil, then cook over medium

heat until broccoli is tender (10 minutes or so).

Put the whole shebang in the blender.

Blend. Stir some whole milk,

A half cup or so.

(I used a half cup of heavy

whipping cream and a half cup of skim milk)

Rewarm soup if necessary.

Sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese.

Enjoy.

Don't forget to sign up for the

Pecan giveaway in the post below

this one, good luck!