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For years I begged my husband to get a dog. After all, I reasoned, he’d have someone to point the blame on when the room was less than fresh. He had always pointed the finger at our small cat, but I called him out because based on the sounds I heard, if our cat had been the culprit, she would have hit the wall at a force of Mach 5. So he broke down and got the dog. But here’s the funny thing. The dog is worse than my husband…much, MUCH worse. We happened to adopt the one dog from the shelter whose gastric emissions put my world-champion husband’s to shame. Still, the dog does come in handy for hubby who happens to get gas when he eats most any vegetable of which beans are his digestive mortal enemy. If my husband were James Bond, beans would be Dr. No. And yet, he loves this soup. I love it too because it’s cheap, healthy and made in 15 minutes with pantry ingredients.
BEAN SOUP WITH SALSA VERDE
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can fat-free refried beans
1 (8 oz.) jar salsa verde or 2 c. of your own green chili salsa
1 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cilantro
Sour cream
Your favorite shredded cheese
You probably already know how this goes. In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute the onion and poblano in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, beans, salsa and chicken stock stirring gently to blend in the refried beans. (The refried beans really thicken the soup. You can leave them out if you prefer a broth type soup.) Add seasonings including salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the juice of 1 lime. Simmer about 10 minutes until warmed through. Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream and shredded cheese. Warn the kids and ask hubby to sleep in the spare room tonight.
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December 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I love this type of soup. Fast and affordable!
December 8th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
This looks terribly good and comforting. I’m lovin’ your blog
December 8th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
@ Judy, I know…cans are good.
@ RecipeGirl – Thanks!! Glad to hear it.
December 9th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Francie, you never fail to crack me up with your posts! I’m going to make this soup tonight…the weather has been a bit chilly here in Georgia as of late and there’s nothing better than a nice pot of bean soup to warm you up! I’ll just be sure to keep my head out from underneath the covers…LOL
December 9th, 2008 at 7:43 am
@ Sherri – Yes, beware…for some inexplicable reason, men think it’s funny to pull the covers over your head and trap you in it.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
this is absolutely hilarious (especially the mental image associated with a cat hitting mach 5), mostly because i can completely identify. beans do wicked things to me, but i eat ‘em anyway, again and again and in excess.
December 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Francie, darlin’, you are SO not right in the head. ATTA GIRL!
Excellent recipe!
December 27th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
This soup sounds delicious and perfect for this chilly weather I’m enduring!
Beans and other beany foods (like lentils and chickpeas) all contain enzyme blockers. This is to make them hard to digest so they pass right through you and get deposited in a nice pile of poo somewhere (ideally, to grow into a new plant). You can fool Mother Nature, though. If you SOAK all your beany foods, not just overnight, but for like a whole 24 hours, the bean will think it’s getting ready to grow so the enzyme inhibitors go away and it actually gets a little boost of vitamins, too. On lentils you can actually see a widdle tail start to grow! It’s not as easy as opening a can, I know, but your husband’s digestive system might thank you!
December 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
P.S. People who have a hard time digesting wheat would also do well to eat sprouted grain products. AND the same goes with nuts. Anything that’s a seed is going to have an enzyme inhibitor and since enzymes are needed for digestion you can see where this could start to be a problem.
January 4th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I made this soup today. Very good but I used 4 cups of chicken broth. One cup is not enough.