Black Bean Soup

1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Medium Onion, chopped
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Cumin
1 Package Beef Smoked Sausage, Bryan, chopped (or other sausage of choice)
3 Cups Medium Salsa, Pace
1 lb Dried Black Beans
14 oz Home Made Chicken Broth
8 TBSP Light Sour Cream, Daisy

All of the sodium in this recipe comes from the sausage and salsa, so if you can prepare your own home-made salsa and find a lower sodium sausage, you can greatly reduce that content.

Ahead of time, prepare the dried beans as instructed on package. Make sure they are tender and keep the liquid!

I prepare homemade chicken broth by cooking leftover chicken carcass with non-starchy vegetable scraps (onions, celery, carrots, peppers, zucchini, etc) covered with water in the crockpot on low for 12 hours.

To prepare the soup, warm olive oil in large sauce pan. Add bell pepper, onion and cumin; saute until tender-crisp. Add the sausage and cook until warm (just a couple minutes).

In batches, puree two thirds of beans with liquid and the chicken broth in blender. Pour into the vegetable/sausage mix. Add the remaining third of beans and salsa to mixture. Simmer 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Makes eight 1-1/2 cup servings. Serve each with 1 TBSP of Light Sour Cream (included in nutrition).