Veggie Black Bean Soup

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, bush's
• 3 slices hickory smoked bacon, thick sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sweet onions, chopped
• 1 cup carrot, sliced
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans campbell's condensed chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• monterey jack cheese, finely shredded for garnish
• sour cream (optional)
• cilantro, whole for garnish

Recipe

• 1 cook bacon in dutch oven or 4 1/2 quart deep pan until crisp. remove bacon from pan and cool on paper towels.
• 2 add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to bacon drippings in pan and saute 10 minutes. chop bacon into small bits once cool.
• 3 add beans, bacon, broth, water, tomatoes and chopped bacon to pan. bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. simmer 30 minutes.
• 4 blend 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth and return to pan. stir in cilantro and lime juice.
• 5 serve with a tablespoon of sour cream, some shredded cheese and a few cilantro leaves to garnish.