Spicin' Up Black Bean Soup with Miss Lopez

Blast you New Year’s Resolutions! I’m pretty sure, judging by today’s date, that I have not posted three new recipes per week. But I have been keeping up with other resolutions, so that has to count for something. Right? And blast you Biebs! I’ve been listening to your song “Baby” today at work. Why?! Is it your profound lyrics: “Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh. Like Baby, Baby, Baby. No.” It’s just so darn catchy! Bring Luda into the mix, and I’m hooked. For those of you who may not be familiar with my feelings towards Justin Bieber – he is the reason I would dread having a 13 year-old daughter one day. And the scary reality is that I’ve been that 13 year-old girl with many a boy bands...back in the day.

Here’s my train of thought. The Biebs makes me think of the show Glee and their Bieber Fever episode from a few weeks ago. Consequently, Glee makes me think of the new OPI line of Glee nail polish colors. And I’m in love with the color “Slushied”! It’s this fantastic blue color for the spring/summer season. Go get it!

Spring fashion trends make me all too anxious to usher in warmer temperatures and say good bye to winter coats. As a fond, food, farewell to winter, I’m featuring a black bean soup recipe. This will most likely be one of the last soups I cook until fall arrives. This black bean soup is the first I’ve made, and it is delicious. There’s a lot of flavor in this pot of protein. It has bacon! Enough said. Check out the recipe below!



Don’t worry. I’m not going to publicly shame myself further and post a Justin Bieber video to my blog. BUT I would like to point out how bad Kim Kardashian's new single "Jam" is. It premiered today. Really? Really Kim? You think you can sing? Really? You know I have a love/hate relationship with you; so why did you give me reason to hate on your new song? I'll still watch your show on E! though. No buena muchacha. No buena. Listen here.

To spice up the black bean soup recipe, I chose Jennifer Lopez's new single "On the Floor". It's a real fist pumper. Speaking of Jennifer Lopez, I'm watching another season of American Idol. I swore I wouldn't once Simon Cowell left, but here I go again...

Black Bean Soup (by Dave Lieberman/Food Network)

Ingredients

• 10 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 6 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 4 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch cilantro
• juice of 1/2 lime
• Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheddar, for garnish

Directions

Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pick off all the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the garnishes.