Last-Minute Black Bean Soup

This quick dinner is just a matter of mixing ingredients in a saucepan, heating them up and then serving with your favorite toppings! It’s perfect for a last-minute dinner. This recipe comes to us from Liz Weiss, of Liz’s Health Table.

Cooking Tip of the Week: Draining and rinsing beans removes some of their salt, but since this recipe skips that step, look for “reduced sodium” or “low sodium” when shopping for canned beans for this recipe.

Food for Thought: Many recipes suggest substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream. Have you ever wondered about the difference? They are both made by exposing dairy to “good” bacteria that makes it thicker and gives it a tangy taste. However, yogurt is made from milk while sour cream is made from cream, meaning that it has a higher fat content than milk. Many people prefer to use Greek yogurt over sour cream as an alternative that is less filling. The choice is up to you! Which product do you prefer?

Family Dinner Conversation Starter: What is something that you can do really fast? What is something that is worth spending a lot of time on?

Ingredients:

• One 15-ounce can reduced-sodium black beans, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, optional
• Fresh chopped cilantro, optional

Directions:

Together: In a medium saucepan, combine the beans, corn, salsa, water, bell pepper, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin.

Adult: Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Kid: Serve in individual bowls and top with the cheese and sour cream and cilantro as desired.