Panera Bread's Black Bean soup is one of my favorite healthy options, and it's quite easy to make. Even when jazzed up! The secret to getting that smooth, creamy texture is blending the beans. I mixed all the ingredients together, including the salsa, as recommended in the original recipe, and blended. However, I set aside half a can of the black beans, keeping them whole, which makes it closer to the Panera version.
I also added half a can of corn, plenty of cumin, and some diced red peppers. I used a very spicy habanero salsa for some serious heat. If you don't have habanero salsa, I would suggest doing a few dashes of cayenne pepper, until you get the level of heat you prefer.
So, I took the picture on the right a few days ago, and I just have to comment on it. Ah, life in Kentucky! Always something culturally interesting going on in these here parts.
John and I went into a very large local gun store the other day (the biggest in the state, apparently), called Whittakers. John goes into a gun shop thinking about bullets, I go in and immediately started thinking about... marketing!
A pink shotgun like you see to the right (sorry for the bad lighting in photo) strikes me as a ploy to get women interested in firearms. There are a few women around here who like guns (or at least say they do. I do know a fierce huntress, but she bow hunts.) It's not exactly a secret that the white male is an aging, shrinking segment of the US population. And if you've ever been to an NRA meeting, you'll know that 'diversity' is a word it's manly members probably have to look up.
Getting to the point, if your main customers are an aging, shrinking group, you as a gun manufacturer have got a long-term problem. The solution? Find a new market! Clearly, its working: I saw this gun and immediately told John that when the zombie apocalypse arrives, he had better have a pink camo gun (utility wise, I'm not sure how effective a pink camouflage gun would be when hunting Bambi, which I interpret as further evidence for my marketing theory) in the closet for me. I won't shoot with anything else!
Anyway, back to the recipe! This soup was AMAZING. I added ground turkey for extra protein in this particular version, but it would be just as good without.
Black Bean Soup
A warm you up fall recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups chicken/vegetable broth
- 1 cup chunky salsa
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 pound ground white meat turkey
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 can canned corn
- 3 dashes cayenne pepper
- 4 TBS fat free greek yogurt
Instructions:
1. In a blender, combine 1 1/2 cans beans, broth, salsa, cumin and cayenne pepper. Blend until smooth.
2. In a dutch oven, brown turkey meat, adding diced red bell pepper when about half done. Then add corn, retained beans, and blended bean mixture until thoroughly heated through.
3. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream, if you prefer) and diced green onions.
2. In a dutch oven, brown turkey meat, adding diced red bell pepper when about half done. Then add corn, retained beans, and blended bean mixture until thoroughly heated through.
3. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream, if you prefer) and diced green onions.
Yield: 4 servings
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