Black Bean Soup

In our house, this is known as a 'Maria recipe', as in, nobody but Maria will eat it.  I don't make as many of these kinds of recipes as I used to.

I like Panera's black bean soup, but the last couple of times I got it I thought that the cumin was very overpowering.  This recipe is also from Slow Cooker Revolution and it is as close to an 'open and dump' recipe as this cookbook gets.  Nothing too involved though.  I cut up the onions and garlic the night before so all I had to do was microwave and dump in the next morning. 

The original recipe called for a ham hock but I had a ham bone in the freezer from Easter (or maybe Christmas) and I figured I should use it before the next one gets tossed in. I used the new Chili 3000 spice mixture I got from Penzey's since I knew it had some more spice to it than regular chili powder.  I added more carrots and celery than what was called for and checked the beans after 9 hours of cooking - perfect!  Cookbook recommends serving with chopped red onion and sour cream.

Black Bean Soup
Yield: 11 1-cup servings

3 whole onions -- minced
6 whole garlic cloves -- minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 pound dried black beans
3 stalks celery -- minced
2 whole carrots -- minced
2 whole bay leaves
1 whole ham bones
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Microwave onions, garlic, oil and chili powder in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir water, broth, beans, celery, carrots and bay leaves into slow cooker. Nestle ham bone in. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

Transfer ham bone to cutting board, let cool slightly and shred meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding bone. Let soup settle for 5 minutes and then remove fat from the surface using a slotted spoon. Discard bay leaves.

Transfer 1 cup of beans to a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir shredded ham and mashed beans back into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 223 Calories; 5g Fat; 13g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber