What shall we eat?

Back in January I made a set weekly schedule for what we eat. I was fed up with my husband saying "I don't care" when I asked what he wanted at the grocery, and I was out of ideas. Anyways, I made a general schedule that could be flexible, but still give me structure to know what I need at the grocery.

For example, Wednesday is our "Soup Day." When I go to the store I know I have to buy carrots, onion, garlic, and celery to make the base for my soup. Then I look at what's fresh, and go from there as to which type of soup to make.

This week, pretty much everything looked gross, which is to be expected I suppose.

Well, I decided to go the bean route for lack of anything else looking appealing. I had tried to make black bean soup at least a dozen times before and failed every single time. Since I don't buy beans in a can (BPA lined) I get them dry, and this was a problem for about half my soups. I could never soak them long enough for them to be soft.

I finally was told by a friend to put a little apple cider vinegar in the beans I am soaking, a voila the beans no longer tasted like pebbles.

The next problem was the texture. Now, the only time I have had black bean soup (other than when I made it) was at Panera Bread. There's is creamy and yummy, and when I made mine, it was anything but. On trial soup number 7, I finally realized if I wanted creamy soup I would have to blend the beans (I have come to the conclusion that about 75% of the beans need pureed).

So with that crazy long intro, here is my recipe for black bean soup.

1 lb black beans (I put the beans in a pot to soak Tuesday before bed, and by the time I start cooking dinner around 4:30 they are good to go. I also add 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar to the pot).

1 red bell pepper

1 jalapeno pepper

pint jar of tomato sauce

pint of vegetable/chicken stock

palm full of cumin

smaller palm full of cayenne pepper

After the beans are cooked, I drain the liquid and add vegetable stock. I also throw in the spices, and tomato sauce. I chop the peppers and throw them in my blender. I take out about 2 cups of beans at a time and put it in my blender until smooth, and replace back in the pot. Let simmer a few minutes, and enjoy.