Spicy Black Bean and Beer Soup
July 19th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Soup is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. Hot or cold weather, I can turn to a good bowl of soup to help me unwind from a crazy day.
Over the years, I have made a several variations of black bean soup, but I keep tweaking the recipe to find the right balance of ingredients. This combination of black beans and beer is so tasty. When you take a bite first you get the tang of the beer and then the smoothness of the black beans and onions. And at the end, you get a touch of heat from the jalapeno and chipotle. It’s goodness in a bowl!
So, where’s the picture of the final product? This soup is definitely not the belle of the ball when it comes to culinary beauty. But don’t let the look fool you. The taste will make up for its lack of visual appeal.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 canned chipotle chile plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
4 cups beer (a pale ale is best)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, onions, garlic and jalapeno and saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the black beans, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce and beer and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours so all the flavors can marry together.
Now, you have a few options. I like my soup a little more brothy, so I thickened it slightly with a slurry of flour and water, but left the broth mostly intact. If you like less broth, you can make it creamier by blending half of the soup and stirring it into the other half. This will reduce the broth, bit still give the soup some texture with the beans and chicken.
Recipe adapted from The Neelys on Food Network
Did you know?
Black beans are a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals. They are also high in protein, providing 15 grams in a one cup serving, and rich in antioxidants.
Fun Finds Friday
July 15th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Friday, Friday…gotta get down on Friday! (Ok, so maybe a cheesy reference to Rebecca Black is overdone by now, but I couldn’t help myself.) This week has been a great week for my running. Granted, getting up at 4 a.m. every day to beat the heat starts to take a toll by the end of the week, but it’s worth it. I’ve had some great runs that remind me why I love running. I ran 6.6 miles this morning at the crack of dawn and felt like I could have ran so much more – I love when that happens!
A few weeks ago, I introduced you to a few of my favorite blogs. I thought I’d share a few more this week in case you’re looking for more food and craft inspiration!
Marisa McClellan created Food in Jars which is a site for all things canning! She’s great at providing detailed instructions and helpful photos to show you how to can everything from jams and jellies to sauces and salsas. Plus, if follow her blog, she features some fun giveaways from time to time.
Taylor Takes a Taste is a great resource for learning how to photograph food. Taylor Mathis shows you step-by-step how he creates the look for the photos he posts and explains the process in a way that’s easy for a novice to follow. He’s also a great resource for finding out what the national food day is at any given time!
I always look forward to seeing what Joy at Joy the Baker is up to. She is funny, smart and witty. Plus, I find myself bookmarking her recipes more often than not. She posted a Mango Banana Bread recipe this week that has moved to the top of my “to try” list in the next week or so!
Do you have, or know of, a blog I should follow? I would love to know about it!
So, what’s up with me this weekend? I have a 5K run Saturday morning, babysitting my adorable nephew Saturday evening, the usual household stuff like laundry and grocery shopping on Sunday and maybe an afternoon of sangria and chatting with our great neighbors. What’s up with you?
Fun Finds Friday
July 8th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Allow me to introduce you to Pub Cakes (warning: music on the site is on autoplay): a wonderful little bakery where Misty Birchall is pairing up cupcakes with beer to create one heck of a tasty treat. Have no fear, non-beer drinkers! Try one and you’ll love it.
I first heard about Pub Cakes from a Girls Pint Out post on Facebook and decided to look them up. Unfortunately, they are located in San Diego, but lucky for me I was headed there in a matter of days so I added it to our itinerary to stop by and check it out. I am so glad we did. The cakes are super moist with gooey center and the frosting is to die for.
If you are in the SD area, I highly recommend stopping by. She’s not shipping out her cupcakes yet, but from the sounds of it, she’s working on making that available soon. Hopefully it’s sooner than later because I’m craving a Beer for Breakfast cupcake which is made with AleSmith® Wee Heavy, bacon and maple cream cheese frosting!
