For the love of black beans!

Can I confess that I never used to like black beans? I am not sure what my issue with them was, but I professed to not like them at all. Then I discovered southwestern egg rolls from Chili's, and decided they were alright in that forum. Three or four years ago, I decided to come up with my own chili for a chili cook-off at church. I worked on it off and on for a year, and perfected it just in time to find out the church decided not to hold the event again. The point I guess being that with the creation of my Three Bean Chili Mole I discovered that I reallly liked the tiny black bean. Recently, every time I am thinking of what to do with ingredients on hand I say, "That would be great with black beans!"

Do you remember the black bean soup I made for the church's snack bar back in September? It smelled fantastic, but didn't taste as good as the smell. The original recipe came from the Everything Cooking for Kids cook book, and is called "Mimi's Black Bean Soup." This is my second attempt that I took to the church's Autumn Soup & Bread lunch, which is held annually after our special fall service including an old fashioned hymn sing.


Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed*
1/2 a carton of vegetable broth, approximately
1/2 small orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 large red bell pepper, diced
garlic powder, to taste
minced dried onion, to taste
1-2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder

Dumped everything in the crock. The beans should be completely covered by the broth with a bit extra for a slight soupy experience. Cook on low overnight, approximately 10-12 hours. In the morning, dice the other 1/2 orange bell pepper and 1/4 red bell pepper, and saute in olive oil until just warm. Pour into crock and serve. Makes about 6 servings.

*Note: I prefer to soak and rinse my own dried beans, but they weren't available at the store that day. A 16 ounce bag of dried beans would be the equivalent of the 2 cans for the purpose of this recipe.