Dinner, Dinner, Chicken- oh wait...

There's no meat in this dinner.

I made soup last night. Yes, soup. That wonderful creation that requires I throw in a bunch of ingredients, stir every few minutes and then be rewarded with plenty of food to feed a house dominated by males (2-1).

And, as a bonus, my brother-from-a-different-mother was over last night having dinner with us. Did I also mention that E worked late last night? Till 8pm? So a typical, sit down dinner was not going to cut it?

So, the Soup.

I found the recipe for 3-Bean Soup in one of my 900 hundred cooking magazines. (really, it's a sickness) I didn't have everything that the recipe called for (shocking!) but I decided that (as usual) I could play fast and loose with the ingredient list and I was right.

3-Bean Soup 
(honestly.... it's a meatless chili)
(adapted from Taste of Home magazine)

1 large onion (just chop it)
1 can spinach (rinsed & drained as best as you can)
garlic (so, I just measured out a teaspoon and a 1/2)
1 can (16-oz) kidney beans; rinse & drain
2 cans (16-oz) black beans; rinse & drain
1 can (16-oz) refried beans (no, I'm not kidding.)
14 oz of chicken broth (meh. eye ball it.)
1 can stewed tomatoes (sort of mash 'em up with you toss them in the pot)
salsa (again. eye ball it. I used somewhere between 3/4-1 cup. I used mild, cause it's what I had in the fridge)
chili powder (to taste)
cumin (ditto)
2 bay leaves (why? cause it's soup! and soup needs- it begs for bay leaves!)


Get a big 'ol pot and put it on your stove. Throw down some olive oil and the onions. Let them the onions get all nice and cooked. Then toss in the spinach. I tried to get the spinach to crisp and brown a little. It kinda worked! When that was nice and cooked, I added the garlic.
Then, I just dumped the rest of the ingredients in.
Easy, Peasy.

Let it cook for 30 minutes or so.
Taste it.
Adjust seasonings for taste.

Done.

(I served with shredded cheese and sour cream.)

The next time I make it, I will probably get fancy with the some added ingredients. But, honestly. If you're looking for a super fast, low-key way to feed your people some good food.... well, make this soup.