The Best Soup

Linda told me about the Bean and Squash Stew/Soup that she served on Christmas Day. It sound wonderful so asked for the recipe. She sent it to me and I will put it at the end of this post so you can have it too. I made it yesterday and it was delicious. I ate it again tonight. Still a taste bud treat.

But can I really call it Linda's recipe? The grocery store didn't have butternut squash so I got an acorn squash instead. I cooked the squash in chicken broth instead of water in a 2 quart sauce pan. I didn't rinse or drain the black beans when I added them. (I love black beans. You can even make brownies out of them. Yummo.) Next ingredient, Mexican stewed tomatoes. I didn't have any but I did have diced tomatoes with green chilies. That's close enough. I substituted blackeyed peas for the the baby corn that I didn't have. Dried onion instead of fresh onion rings. I skipped the tomato paste altogether. No vegetable bouillon cube, but I used chicken broth so that probably makes up for it. I did have chili powder, oregano and garlic powder (ran out of fresh cloves). I followed the cooking instructions: bring to a boil, cover and simmer. I did not have any sour cream so I topped it with Greek yogurt and grated Parmesan cheese. It's the best soup I've had in a long time.

Here's the original recipe. Let me know how you modify it.

Bean and Squash Stew/Soup

2 cups water
1 cup butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch thick cubes (do larger chunks)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2 oz can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 cup frozen or canned baby corn.
! small onion sliced and separated into rings.
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1-2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
Dairy sour cream, optional

In a 3 quart sauce pan combine water and squash. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, tomato paste, bouillon cube, chili powder, oregano and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes (until squash is cooked). If desired, top each serving with sour cream. Makes 4 main dish servings.

163 calories, a gram total fat (0 sat fat), 785 mg sodium, 36 grams carbs, 9 grams fiber, 11 grams protein