Black Bean Soup

You can puree this soup as much, or as little, as you like.  I pureed it almost smooth.  You can use chicken stock, but I was looking for a vegetarian meal.  Great topped with cheddar cheese and/or sour cream.  Makes 12 servings.

  1 Cup Red Bell Pepper                                                            32 Ounce Vegetable Broth

  2 Tbl olive oil                                                                          14.5 Ounce Diced Tomatoes

  2 Tsp Garlic                                                                             8 Ounce Chopped Green Chile

  45 Ounces Black Beans                                                           2 Tsp Cilantro

Dice the peppers, mince the garlic and rinse and drain the beans.

In a large pot oven, sautee the peppers in oil until tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Stir in the beans, broth, tomatoes and chopped green chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Add cilantro; cook 5 minutes longer.  Remove from the heat; puree with a stick blender.

Per Serving: 210 Cal (19% from Fat, 20% from Protein, 61% from Carb); 11 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 2 g Mono Fat; 33g Carb; 10 g Fiber; 2 g Sugar; 51 mg Calcium; 3 mg Iron; 596 mg Sodium