Mexi Bean Soup

A hearty Mexican style soup that will keep you warm and full in the fall and winter months. Let it cook all day in your crock pot and the flavors will be wonderful. The black beans make the soup hearty without it being expensive, but with a small amount of left over poultry you wont miss the meat.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 6-8

Prep Time: 45 min.   Cook Time: 4-5 hours  

Ingredients

1/2 bag to 3/4 bag of dried black beans
1 pint canned tomatoes (can them yourself. You’ll be glad you did)
1 bell pepper chopped
1 jalapeno diced with seeds (or without if you don’t like the heat)
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 chicken or turkey breast roasted with salt and pepper.
1 quart chicken stock (I make my homemade stock strong and also use 1 quart water. If you’re using store bought stock, just use 2 quarts stock.
3-4 Tbsp corn starch
3 cups whole milk
salt to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes if you like it hot
about 1 Tbsp cumin (never enough in my opinion)
1 tsp garlic powder

cheddar cheese shredded for garnish
green onion diced for garnish
sour cream for garnish
whole grain tortilla chips

Directions

You can choose to cook the black beans on your stove, but I prefer to put the beans, stock, and water in my crock pot on high and let them cook for about 4-5 hours. This will only work if your stock isn’t salted. Salt will keep the beans from softening. If you are doing the beans on your stove, add the beans to a medium or large pot, fill 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the beans are soft. This will probably take over an hour.

When the beans are soft put them in the crock pot, or if using the crock pot, go ahead and add the peppers, tomatoes, onions, and seasoning besides the salt right away. They can cook all day with the beans.
At this point if I didn’t have any left over chicken or turkey in the fridge, I would roast the poultry breast (with olive oil if it is skinless) with salt and pepper for about 20-30 minutes at 325 or until the juices run clear. Set the poultry in the refrigerator until you’re ready for it.

When the beans are softened, right before you’re ready to serve, shred the poultry into the soup. (If you add it early, it will turn black from the beans. It still tastes the same.) Remove 2 ladles of broth from the soup and whisk the corn starch into the broth until smooth. Add this back to the soup with the milk and salt. Stir to incorporate.

Bring the soup back up to temperature and serve with the garnishes. My husband would like me to add that if you love yourself you will use fresh green onion. Crush the tortilla chips over your bowl and eat!

Categories: Bean Soups, Budget, Cheese, Crock Pot, Dairy, Entertaining, Main Dish, Other Dairy, Other Soups & Stews, Potluck, Poultry, Soups & Stews

Submitted by: lisaajb on January 30, 2011