Black Bean and Salsa Soup

I've mentioned before that I've been trying to cook meatless or meat-lite meals a bit more often. Not only does this help the pocketbook, but it helps our arteries, too! I have to admit that we're almost addicted to meat - especially chicken - so it can be hard to persuade Brad that we can do without once in awhile. (I'm telling you - the man really loves his chicken!) Pastas are a given, but if you take tofu out of the mix (we're not so into pure tofu in this house) you have to get a bit creative.

Enter soup.

Brad really likes soups of all kind, but the canned varieties have too much sodium in them so I try to avoid them. Also, canned soup may be cheap, but there is nothing like making a big pot of the homemade kind to really stretch your dollar, and this Black Bean and Salsa soup is no exception! The recipe calls for canned beans, but I see no reason you couldn't cook your own dried beans instead (to avoid even more sodium.) Play around with the heat-level of your salsa - you can really tailor this to your own tastes. And the toppings? I ate mine plain tonight, but of course sour cream and green onions (as the recipe calls for) would be great as would crushed tortilla chips or perhaps some chopped avocado. And if you just have to serve meat to make it a meal try a little shredded chicken - I think it would make this soup even heartier.

Black Bean and Salsa Soup
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Ingredients
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup chunky salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

Directions
1. In an electric food processor or blender, combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth.
2. Heat the bean mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.
3. Ladle soup into 4 individual bowls, and top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sour cream and 1/2 tablespoon green onion.