Black Bean Soup Recipe

Well after our healthy meal yesterday we had a few extra black beans….my bad, so we decided to make some soup with it today and it was incredible, flavorful, hearty, easy to make and wife approved. We topped it with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.  However it was not very photogenic so we forwent to photo.  Here is the recipe we used:

Ingredients
3/4 c dry black beans
4 strips of bacon (4oz), chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chopped dried jalapenos
1 carrot chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 ground thyme
1/2 bay leaf
48oz chicken broth
1/2 tsp black pepper
sour cream and cilantro for garnish

Instructions
Place beans in a bowl and cover by 3 inches of cold water, soak overnight.

Cook bacon in a large pot until golden, remove bacon from pan and discard all but 1 tbsp of bacon grease.

Add bacon back into pan with onion, garlic, jalapeno, thyme, oregano and bay leaf, saute until onion is softened, stirring frequently.

Add beans, chicken broth, and pepper.  Simmer partially covered stirring occasionally until beans are tender usually 2-2 1/2 hours.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro and possibly a little cheese.