Panera Bread's Black Bean Soup

I will give you the doubled recipe, but feel free to half it if you only have two or three people and don't like leftovers.... we on the other hand LIVE for leftovers...

2 onions chopped

4 cloves of garlic (pressed or minced)

4 celery ribs chopped

1/2 red bell pepper chopped (When I don't have this I have used a dash or red pepper spice and a pinch of sugar)

3 chicken bullion cubes

3 c. boiling hot water

5-6 cans black beans (or 1 1/2 bags of dried beans, soaked and cooked)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

Combine onions, garlic, celery, red bell pepper, bullion cubes, and hot water (if you want to make it totally vegetarian, use 3 c. vegetable broth instead of chicken bullion and water). Let simmer 10 minutes. Add salt, cumin, and 2 cans of black beans (or 1/3 of your cooked beans). Simmer for 5 minutes, then puree together. Add rest of black beans, and lemon juice. Heat through, and enjoy! I frequently serve this with cheese and tortilla chips.

This also could easily go inside a tortilla with rice, salsa, and cheese the next day to make black bean burritos!

Chrissy Parkinson