First Recipe of the Week!

 Welcome to my first ever Recipe of the Week (ROTW)!  I decided that I wanted to challenge myself a little bit with the blog and add more features.  However, my work and school load is a lot and I am trying to realize my limit.  I LOVE to cook and try new recipes, and I wanted to do a 30 day challenge.  30 days....30 recipes...and each week would contain a variety of meat, chicken, and vege dishes.  Reality sunk in and I didn't want to set myself up for failure, so I narrowed it down a ton and decided to try one new recipe a week.  I will eventually start adding more challenges :) 

The first ROTW is Maui Black Bean Soup from the Eat Clean Cookbook.  I absolutely love this cookbook!  This recipe look like a lighter version on black bean soup and packed a ton of veggies into it!  All of the veggies get blended together with the immersion blender, which creates a great texture.  The best part is Daniel has no idea how many veggies really are in here based on the finished product!

Maui Black Bean Soup

2 T. EVOO

2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped

1 fat carrot, peeled and chopped

1 small purple onion

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. dried cumin

1 t. dried oregeno

1 t. dried basil

1 t. chili powder

4 c. low-sodium chicken stock

2 cans black beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 c. corn kernels

The star ingredients!

First, you chop up all of the veggies.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add your veggies.  Saute until the onion becomes translucent. 

Veggies!!!

Add garlic and spices and cook another 2 minutes.

Add your stock, beans, and tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat.  Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes. 
Here is my favorite part: using a hand-held blender (I used my wonderful immersion blender) puree soup.  I left mine a little chunky for some texture.  Then, add your corn and simmer for about 5 minutes.

The finished product:

Delicious doesn't come close.

I enjoyed mine with a little bit of cheese and a dollop of greek yogurt.  It was DELICIOUS!  I loved all of the flavors.  It might replace my chicken tortilla soup as my go-to recipe. 

Enjoy!