Black Bean and Chorizo soup

Back in October, I came across a recipe for Black Bean and Chorizo Soup over at For the Love of Cooking. I bookmarked it and have looked at it a couple of times since then but today I thought it would be the perfect day to make it. Brad and I had already planned on sledding around dinner time and I thought that a nice soup would be just the right touch to warm us up.

So what was the consensus? It was pretty good. Brad really liked it, he enjoyed the flavor of the chorizo with the heartiness of the beans. I liked it as well...I almost wish the chorizo was in larger chunks but that just isn't the nature of chorizo..or at least Mexican chorizo. Either way, it was good, and a nice change of pace as far as soups go.

Anyway, below I have reposted the recipe. Pam over at For the Love of Cooking had commented on the spiciness of the soup however Brad and I didn't really feel like this was an issue for us. At the same time though, we are also used to eating chorizo. The only thing I changed was omitting the olive oil. Chorizo is very greasy by itself so I didn't think it would need to extra oils. Other than that, I followed the recipe as is and was pleased.

Black Bean and Chorizo Soup
from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil (again, I omitted this due to the fattiness of the chorizo)
  
• 6 oz chorizo pork
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 4-5 baby bell peppers, chopped (or 1 bell pepper)
  
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp dried red hot pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to tasted
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 3 15 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• Cotija cheese- for garnish
• Fresh cilantro, chopped- for garnish
  
• Sour cream, optional

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Remove the chorizo from the casing and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the onion and bell pepper then continue to cook for 5-7 minutes; season with cumin, red pepper flakes, sea salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 60 seconds.
4. Add broth and two cans of black beans then simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes. Mix some of the soup with an immersion blender.
5. Add the last can of beans and stir. Taste, re-season with spices if needed.
6. Top the soup with cotija cheese and fresh cilantro and/or sour cream. Enjoy.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Brad stayed from his clinicals sick today. Why is that newsworthy? Because he never gets sick. So when he's starts complaining he's not feeling well, you know it's something serious. I wasn't feeling well all weekend either and I had some sick days built up at work so I went to our weekly meeting and then scooted out of there. I came back home and his fever had gotten worse. Anyway, long story short, his fever is still coming and going and his other symptoms are still present. We're not sure if it's just a really bad cold, the flu, or something else but I decided that this "occassion" called for some Chicken Noodle Soup. However, we didn't have any canned soup so I decided to whip some up instead.

This was my first time making soup and I kind of just made it up as I went along and I was pretty impressed. I don't have any measurements or anything but I figured I'm post what I used just to show you that anyone can make a basic Chicken Noodle Soup. Also, I chose to season the chicken pretty well to prevent too many herbs from floating around in the broth in hopes that he would bring a more thoroughly blended flavor.

Chicken Noodle Soup

• Olive Oil
  
• 1-2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• garlic cloves, minced
• 1 chicken breast, chopped (or left overs from previously cooked chicken)
  
• thyme
• pepper
• oregano
  
• savory
• parsley
  
• 1 box Chicken Broth
  
• egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil in a pot. Cook chicken seasoned with thyme, pepper, savory, and oregano until no longer pink. Remove from pot. Leave any juices behind in the pot.
2. Heat olive oil in a pot if needed. Cook carrots, onion, and garlic until tender.
3. Add Chicken Broth and heat until boiling. Add egg noodles, cooking until tender.
4. Return chicken to pot. Add additional seasonings if desired. Simmer to allow flavors to blend.