Sunday Soup

I've had a massive case of Fall Fever for a while now and although September 1st rolling around means absolutely nothing as far as our hot, humid weather is concerned, it means Fall is here.  At least in my mind.  Fall (and yes, it's a big enough event in my life to be capitalized) means wearing old, faded blue jeans, flannel shirts and boots, hot tea (I don't even like tea all that much but I crave it in the fall) and slow cooked meals and football.

Along with my urge to wear flannel despite it still being 90+ degrees with 4,000% humidity is my recent obsession with eating healthier meals.  I've been on a health kick for about a month now and I'm proud to say I've lost about 10 pounds by doing nothing but eating baked/grilled chicken instead of fried chicken tenders and cutting out potatoes and replacing them with an extra serving of vegetables.

But how was I going to keep that up over the winter when there isn't an over abundance of zucchini and fresh tomatoes available?

The answer?  Soup.

I decided that I'd challenge myself to serve some kind of made-from-scratch soup on a weekly basis throughout the winter.

And I decided to share the recipe with you each week.  

So, with no further ado, this week's recipe....

Black Bean Soup, photo courtesy of delish.com

Instant Pot Black Bean Soup

1 lb. dry black beans*
4 cups chicken stock
water
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt
2 - 4 stalks celery (including leaves) chopped
1 cup salsa
avocado (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Rinse the beans and place in Instant Pot.  Pour in the chicken stock then add enough water to cover by 2 or 3 inches.  Add salt, celery and salsa.  Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 25 - 30 minutes then allow the pressure to release naturally.

Once the beans have finished cooking, blend/smash/puree the beans.  A potato masher works great if you don't have a blender.

Scoop the soup into bowls and top with avocado, cheese and sour cream.  Enjoy!

*No Instant Pot?  Simply use a couple of cans of beans and leave out the water.