Fall has fell

How refreshing is the weather this morning?  To be one of the first to welcome fall, I made a hearty and healthy soup for lunch this week.  I found this recipe off one of the thousands of blogs I read, but I can't for the life of me remember which one to give them credit.  What they don't know, can't hurt 'em, right?

I've been trying to "get out of the box" lately and try flavor combos that I've never done before.  This week's experiment is sweet potato and black beans.  This combo is pretty common on restaurant menus, but I've always passed it up for something else.  I made the soup last night and tried it out.  It is the perfect way to welcome in stick to you ribs fall dishes!  Even my husband liked it.  He described it as chili without the meat...I'd like to think it's a little more culinary advanced than that.  But from my chili-worshiping husband it was a big vote of confidence in this soup.

The soup is meatless of course, but has tons of fiber and protein from the black beans, along with vitamins and minerals from the sweet potatoes.  Be careful when adding in additional salt.  You might not even need to with the sodium already in the cans of Rotel tomatoes, and some in the vegetable broth.  Taste it before you toss any extra in.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 roasted red pepper, chopped (you can use jarred)
2 cans low sodium vegetable broth (15 oz. size)
2 cups water
3 cans low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until tender. Add in the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the sweet potato and roasted red pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.

Make sure all the sweet potatoes are cubed the same size. 
Its important so they all cook in the same amount of time.

3. Add in the broth, water, black beans, and tomatoes. Stir well.

4. Add the chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Stir and toss in the cilantro. Stir again. Let the soup simmer on medium low for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.



I pluck the leaves from the cilantro and use kitchen shears to snip the leaves to the desired dice.

5. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

You can top this soup a thousand different ways as you would any other southwestern soup.  Crushed tortilla chips, cheese, avocado slices, and sour cream (or Greek yogurt or us healthy eaters) are all great add-ins.  If you are watching your calories like me just be mindful to watch the amount of add-ins, you also add in additional fat and calories with each.

Who wouldn't want this hearty, warm bowl on a cool fall day?  Enjoy!