Black Bean Soup

I've been testing variations on this recipe for a while, but last night's version was really, really good. I use canned beans because they're easy. This makes 4-6 servings as a full meal, I think. Usually for me, it seems to dry up a bit and can serve double-duty in cheese-and-bean quesadillas the next day, but this pot didn't last that long. The other night it ended up vegan by accident, since I normally use a little bit of reserved bacon grease instead of oil, but whatever.

If I shop carefully and stock up on the canned things when they're on sale, this whole thing costs me about $5.

• 1 tbsp olive oil (can substitute other cooking oil)
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 2-3 celery stalks
• 1 colored bell pepper
• 1 large-ish garlic clove
• 3-5 carrots (or parsnips; I use whatever I have)
  
• 1 small can green chiles (6 or 7 oz. If you have fresh mild chiles, substitute!)
• 2 cups vegetable stock (I have some frozen. You could probably just use water, since it's a pretty flavorful. If vegetarian's not important, chicken stock would work, too.)
• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• about 64 oz. canned black beans- 4 16 oz. cans is usual for me, but it depends on how they're cheapest at the grocery store. Two 30-oz. cans works, too.
  

Dice onion, celery, carrot and bell pepper, and add to large pot or Dutch oven with oil over medium-ish heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Mince or press garlic and add when onions are almost translucent. Add cilantro, ground red pepper and about 1/4 of the beans, then the stock. Raise the temp to medium-high and mash up the beans with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. When the stock starts to boil, add the rest of the beans. Ta-da! Done.

In the end, I had a jar of marinated jalapenos and I added a whole pepper to my own bowl, which required me to add a little bit of plain yogurt because it was HOT. Obviously, that un-veganified it, but it was still technically vegetarian. And delicious. Like I said above, it thickens if it's left in the fridge, and that can be used as bean dip the next day.