I love Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray officially made me feel like I could cook again after having children.  There was a time that I felt like I'd never be able to get into the kitchen and actually make a meal, let alone enjoy my baking again.  I started watching the Food Network while I nursed my oldest and found her 30 minute meals and loved them.  I loved them so much that I received several of her cookbooks the next Christmas.  One of them is called "Express Lane Meals".  I fell particularly in love with the "meals for the exhausted" section of the book.  That is where this particular recipe comes from and it's about as easy as you can get, she calls it a "chop, drop and open" recipe.  It doesn't taste like a quick and easy recipe - big flavor and very satisfying.  I stumbled on the greatest accompaniment to it as well, lime flavored tortilla chips.  Talk about a match made in heaven!

Enjoy a hearty bowl of this soup tonight!

Rachael Ray's Smoky Black Bean & Rice Stoup 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 bacon slices, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup frozen corn kernels

2 15 ounce cans of black beans

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 15 ounce can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 quart chicken stock

1 cup rice

Method:

1.)  Heat oil in a medium sized soup pot.

2.)  Add bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes

3.)  Add the bay leaf, celery, onions and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften them

4.)  Add corn and 1 can of black beans.  Drain the other can and add half of that can, mash the remaining beans with a fork to make a paste out of them, then scrape them into the soup pot (makes for thicker soup).  I don't always do this and it tastes just fine and is plenty thick for us.

5.)  Season the veggies and beans with coriander, chili, group cumin, Worcestershire and hot sauce.

6.)  Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

7.)  Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock, then cover pot and raise heat to bring to a boil.

8.)  Add the rice and cook over a rolling simmer until rice is tender (about 15 minutes)

9.)  Serve with lime tortilla chips and garnish with sour cream & chives!

Click here for printable recipe