Black Bean Soup (Vegetarian)

I'm not a very good cook, but I love trying to make new recipes. Sometimes they fail miserably, but this is one of my successes. This pseudo-Latin recipe is the perfect thing to warm you up and doesn't take more than half an hour to make.

Ingredients:

black beans (3 cans)
extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp)
diced green chiles (1/2 of a small can, approx. 2 oz.)
white onion
vegetable boullion (1 cube)
water (approx. 1/2 cup)
**corn starch (1 tbsp) {optional- see step 4}
garlic powder (1 tsp)
Tajin Clasico Seasoning (1 tsp)
Adobo Seasoning (1tsp)
salt and pepper

tools:

medium soup pot
can opener
mixing spoon
measuring spoons
liquid measuring cup
knife and cutting board
food processor/ blender

Chop up and cook half a medium-sized white onion in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil until soft.

Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add half a cup of water and your boullion cube to the pot and stir until the boullion dissolves completely.
Then stir in about half the can of diced green chiles.

Open all three cans of beans. Drain the water off the tops of the cans, but leave the gravy. Add two of the cans directly to the pot and blend up the third can in your blender/food processor before adding that to the pot as well.
Turn up the heat to medium high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often to get it mixed and heated evenly.
Add 1/4 cup water if your soup is too thick, or 1 tbsp corn strach if you want it thicker.

I usually just sprinkle spices directly into the pot, but if you like to measure...
...add 1 tsp each of tajin, adobo, and garlic powder.
Sample your soup now and add salt and pepper to taste.
Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes. Then turn the heat down, and it's ready to serve!

This recipe serves about 6 people (depending on whether they want seconds!).
You can serve it plain or with grated cheese or sour cream on top.
We had ours with corn bread and salad, but it is also good with Latin-style chicken or enchiladas.
Enjoy!