Buona Sera Black Bean Soup

Progresso

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

2 medium carrots, chopped (1 cup)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

¼ tsp pepper

3 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth

4 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained, rinsed

1 can (15.25 oz) whole kernel sweet corn, drained

1 jar (16 oz) mild picante or salsa

In 4-qt saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery, carrots and garlic in oil 5 min, stirring occasionally. 

Pretty bunny food!

Add chili powder, cumin and pepper; cook 1 min. Stir in broth, 2 cans of the black beans and the corn. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, place remaining 2 cans black beans and the picante in blender or food processor. Cover and blend on high speed until smooth. Stir into boiling soup mixture.

The black bean/salsa gloop has a nice consistency and does a lot to make the soup substantial. 

Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 min. Serve with chopped cilantro, if desired.

It comes out looking predictably like bean soup. But don't be fooled! There's a lot of flavor in there!

My Rating: 3/5 "This is a happy for your tummy. Beans are a really healthy, filling way to get your protein, and trust me when I say that a bowl of this will leave you full in a satisfying way. My only real complaint about this is that it's a little too much spice. It's not the flavor - I love food with lots of flavor. It's that there's an actual large quantity of dried spices in this that give it a bit of a gritty texture and that's what I had a hard time wrapping my mind around. That said, my husband loved this and actually volunteered to eat all the leftovers, so it definitely has a lot going for it."