Black Bean Soup for One

I have been sick with a cold this week, and Jim was out of town all week for school camp, so it was just the kids and me.  I had some easy things in the house that I cooked for the kids, but what I really wanted to eat was soup.
I didn't want to spend a lot of time or energy on my soup, so I made a scaled-down version of this Black Bean Soup (originally from Paula Deen's magazine).  I only had one can of black beans, so I cut this recipe down to one quarter of the original amounts, and it made enough for me to have a nice big bowl for dinner one night and a smaller bowl for the next day for lunch.  It was quick, easy, and warm - just what I was looking for!  I usually have all the ingredients, so this is one of my go-to choices when I am just cooking for myself.

Here's how I made it:

Black Bean Soup

1 slice of bacon, finely chopped
1/8 cup chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can of black beans
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Toppings:  Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, tortilla chips

Cook bacon over medium high heat for 3 minutes or until just starting to brown.  Add onions and garlic and cook until onion is tender.  Add beans, water, bouillon cube, cumin, and chili powder.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove pot from heat, and blend soup until smooth (I used an immersion blender).  Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, salsa, and broken tortilla chips on top.

*Sometimes, I don't bother with bacon (or don't have any), so I just put a little olive oil in my pot and cook my onions and garlic in the oil.

I use homemade salsa in the soup, and it makes it taste very fresh.  My sour cream sunk to the bottom, so you can't see it in the picture, but it is there, and it is good in the soup.  :)  I know that this soup doesn't photograph very well, but it is really tasty!  I hope you will try it this fall (either the small version or the full version)!