Black Bean Salsa Soup

By KSmitherman

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into big chunks (can be frozen)
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 32oz carton all natural low sodium reduced fat chicken broth (4 cups)
• 2 12oz packages of frozen broccoli
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with juices
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Shredded cheddar, plain non-fat yogurt or sour cream, sliced avocado, and chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Details

Adapted from freezeyourwayfit.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

ONE: Cook the broccoli according to the package directions. Pour 2 cups of the broth into a blender or food processor. Add cooked broccoli and puree (if you don’t have a very good blender…Mom…you may want to add the broccoli a cup at a time and puree as you go).

TWO: Throw the broccoli mixture and everything else (except the garnishes) into the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5.

THREE: To thicken the broth before serving, use an immersion blender (seriously the coolest tool ever!) and blend everything right in the crock for about a minute or until it’s how you like it. If you don’t have an immersion blender, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and CAREFULLY (because it will be really hot) puree it in a regular blender and then add it back to the soup. You might also want to use two forks to shred up the chunks of chicken a bit.