Spicy Black Bean Soup

Since the holidays are quicky approaching, I decided to make some cheap meals for the next couple of weeks, especially since Jeremy and I are going to Gatlinburg the first week of December. I found this recipe on the novice chef blog. It really only costed me about 4.00 to make both the soup and sandwich because I had most of the stuff on hand already. I served this with a grilled cheese sandwich that was made with bacon, sliced tomato, provolone cheese, and shredded cheddar.

http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2009/09/spicy-black-bean-soup.html

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans- 1 drained and rinsed, 1 w/ liquid

1 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and minched

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp evoo

3 scallions, chopped

Directions:

Heat evoo in large stockpot. Add in onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Season with cumin,oregano,chili powder, salt and pepper.Saute for about 5 mins or until tender. Add in both cans of beans and chicken broth. Simmer 1o mins.  Transfer 1 cup of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to soup. Stir to combine. Simmer another 5 mins. Garnish with chopped scallions.

Cowboy Beans

I picked up Dolly Parton’s cookbook, Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s, during my last visit to the Dixie Stampede in Gatlinburg, TN. I was pleasently surprised at the variety of recipes that are in it. When Jeremy was flipping through the book, he ran into cowboy beans and said he wanted them one day soon. So, here they are. I served this with oyster crackers. It tastes like a huge bowl of  baked beans and chili mixed. Its very good and Ill definately make it again. It does take a while to make them but its definately worth it.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried navy beans, rinsed and picked through- I used 1/2 lb

1 small ham hock

1 bay leaf

veg. oil

3/4 lb ground beef, cooked and drained- I used 1 lb

1 onion, chopped

2 cups ketchup

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

Soak beans overnight.

Drain beans. Add fresh water (enough to cover beans by about 2 inches),bay leaf, and ham hock to large soup pot. Bring to boil over med high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about 2 hours or until beans are very tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Discard bay leaf and return to pot.

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 5 qt casserole with veg oil cooking spray.

Remove ham from bone and chop it into small pieces. Add ham, onion, beef, molasses, ketchup, tomato sauce, sugar, worcestershire sauce, mustard, and ginger to to beans. Stir until combined. Pour bean mixture into casserole. Add reserved cooking liquid. Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Pinto Bean Soup

As a child, I never really ate pinto beans because I thought they were gross. I was wrong. As I got older, I started to like them quite a bit. This recipe is from Katie Lee Joel. Here in the south its traditional to serve pinto beans with corn bread so thats what I did! This meal is cheap and cheerful. Try it! 

1 lb dried pinto beans, rinsed and picked through

1 large onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

2 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

 

Soak beans overnight.

Drain beans. Combine quartered onion, bay, bacon, salt, pepper, and garlic powder with 6 cups water in large pot over med-high heat. Bring to a soft boil and reduce heat. Stir occasionally and add more water as needed to keep beans covered. Cook about 3 hours or until beans are super tender. Season with added salt and pepper to taste.