Black Bean Stoup - Courtesy of Rachael Ray

I admit it, Rachael Ray is kind of kooky. But she never fails me with the good recipes. She calls things "stoups" that are thicker than a soup but not as thick as a stew. This recipe is totally easy. It's hardly any effort to double the recipe and it freezes really well. I usually put a bunch of (cooled) left over soup in a freezer ziploc bag and let it freeze flat. I hope you like it as much as we do over here. And let me know if you try it. I always love to hear that people enjoy recipes I share!

Black Bean Stoup (single recipe)
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery
4 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeño (you could leave out the pepper if you like stuff less spicy)
1 bay leaf
1 red bell pepper (I like to buy bags of frozen chopped bell peppers from TraderJoes. They are red, yellow, and green bell peppers)
3 15 oz. cans black beans
2 Tbsp cumin
1.5 tsp coriander
salt & pepper
2-3 Tbsp hot sauce
1 quart veggie stock (I always use chicken stock)
1 can diced tomatoes

Heat oil. Add onion, celery, garlic, jalapeño and bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add red bell peppers. Add 2 drained cans of beans and mash up the 3rd can before adding to the soup. Add cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. Add stock and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes on low. For extra zest, add some lime juice at the very end.

We like to serve this soup with some cornbread (out of the box!) or quesadillas.