Awesome Black Bean Soup

Throughout the ages, we're all looking for that great, quick soup recipe. Well, here it is. This is the reason for buying a crockpot, just to make this soup. I must give credit to the original recipe-I found it on crockpot365.com. I did have to tweak it, you know that's the way I roll. I love using a crockpot since the work is done for you. Follow the recipe and you can't go wrong (unlike the mushroom/broccoli risotto fiasco just a week ago in the crockpot. I won't even tell you how that turned out. Let's just say we all make mistakes!)

Awesome Black Bean Soup
3 cans black beans, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes, do not drain
2 cups veggie broth
6-9 packets Taco Bell mild taco sauce (yes, I'm not kidding)
1 TBS cumin
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen corn
shredded cheese (optional)

1. Pour all ingredients except corn and cheese into crockpot. (I usually spray the inside just to try and make cleanup easier).
2. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, medium for 8-10 hours.
3. At the end of the cook time, take out two cups of soup (trying not to get too many tomatoes) and use an immersion blender to blend it till smooth.
4. Return the reserved soup and frozen corn.
5. Cook for about 5 minutes to warm corn.
6. Serve with shredded Mexican cheese if you want, or even tortilla chips.

My daughter loves to scoop the soup with tortilla chips. I prefer to just eat it with a slight pinch of cheese. Husband adds a boatload of tabasco. Whatever floats your boat, dear chef. And I tend to double the recipe if I'm bringing it to a potluck. It goes over very big and is one of the first things to be empty.

Enjoy!