Black Bean Vegetable soup

I am OBSESSED with soup right now. Until last year I'd never made soup from scratch. What?! Never?! That's right, never! The first soup I tackled was a tasty copycat black bean soup because I'd really like to eat at Panera every single day but my money tree seems to have picked up root and left the state. It's definitely in our regular rotation now and 2 out of 3 boys love it (though the third will also eat his share as long as I provide lots of bread for scooping).

For the last month or so though I have pinned loads of new soup recipes and there are just not enough days to try them all! Today I looked through my soup folder on All Recipes (what?? you don't have a soup folder?!) for something I could fix fast since I spent all day running errands. I found a recipe for a black bean veggie soup that sounded simple, so I decided to give it a go. As always, I made a few changes so this is the altered recipe as I made it.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can corn (no salt added)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup uncooked brown (minute) rice

Directions:

1. In large saucepan heat oil over medium heat, cook garlic and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin, cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add broth, white beans, 1 can of black beans, pepper and corn. Bring to boil.
2. Meanwhile, in blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining can of black beans, add to pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. (longer if the soup is still too watery for your taste, it will cook down and become thicker the longer it simmers)
3. Add 1 cup uncooked brown rice during the last 10 minutes of cook time.

I enjoyed this soup. I can't say it was my favorite, truthfully it could use a bit more seasoning, but I would make it again and just add a bit more spiciness next time. I served this with Tofutti Sour Supreme, Daiya cheddar style shreds and some crushed tortilla chips. Had the leftovers for dinner tonight and it was just as good as last night, maybe even a little better because it really thickened in the fridge and was almost like a stew today. YUM!