35.Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

Diners always list chili on the soup menu. My Cooking Light Soup cookbook contains this recipe for Black Bean and Chorizo Chili. I’m lamenting the loss of my favorite chili recipe so I decided to try this one. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but don’t be afraid.

Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

Cooking Spray
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe sauce, drained and finely chopped
1 ¾ cups chopped onion
11/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
1 ½ cups chopped red bell pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 61/2 ounces)
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 (14 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 ½ ounce) can no salt-added whole kernel corn, drained
1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chiles, onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, salt and pepper. Yield 12 servings (serving size: 1 cup)


Changes and Shortcuts: Chipotle chilies come in small cans but are always more than what is needed for a recipe. I would always put the remainder in the refrigerator, but would always wind up throwing them away. I discovered that you can take what you need from the can, put the rest in a plastic zip bag and flatten. Put the bag in the freezer. When you need to use them again, you can just break off the needed amount and nothing goes to waste.

I chopped the chipotle chiles, onion, green and red peppers, and garlic in the morning and set out the spices and cans of beans, tomatoes, and corn in the morning so I would be all set to go when I got home from work.

There are two kinds of Chorizo, one raw and one not. I don’t know the difference between the two. The kind I had was raw so instead of trying to chop them, I removed from the casing and crumbled. I cooked the chorizo for a few minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.

I used cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes. I never understand why recipes will call for whole canned tomatoes and then tell you to cut them up. Why not skip that step and buy them already diced??

Oh, and the recipe doesn’t tell you this but the semi sweet chocolate comes in 1 ounce blocks. Since you only need 1 ½ oz you might as well eat the other ½ oz while you’re cooking!!

Results: Really easy and really good. This is my new favorite chili recipe. This could also be made with out the chorizo for a vegetarian meal.

Keeper? YES!

37. Tomato, Black Bean, and Chicken Soup

I really hadn’t given too much thought to which soup I would make this week so this soup is another “pantry” soup. I used some of the cooked chicken that I always have on hand, some cans of tomato, seasonings, and black beans. I had planned on using a full can of beans, but my son got to them first and I only had about a half of a can left!

Tomato, Black Bean, and Chicken Soup


Olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped green pepper, fresh or frozen
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 cooked chicken breast, cut up in bite size pieces
2 cans fire roasted tomatoes (I had one can with garlic and one plain)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I use tomato paste in the tube)
¾ box of chicken stock
1 can diced green chilies
½ can black beans, drained and rinsed

Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot while chopping the celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Add chopped vegetables to olive oil and cook for a few minutes until tender. Add cooked chicken and red pepper flakes and cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock and green chilies. Cook on low for about twenty minutes. Add beans a few minutes before serving.

Changes and Shortcuts: None, since this another “make up as you go” recipe

Results: Quick, hearty soup. After a few days of temperatures in the 90s, today was cool and damp. A perfect day for soup!

Keeper? YES!