Black Bean Chili & Celery Almond Soup

I saw this recipe yesterday......

http://www.blogher.com/frame.php?url=http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/02/recipe-for-spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup.html

It looked amazing! But I just felt it was missing something~ I didn't feel that it was main dish worthy~ more of a side. I wanted a black bean main dish meal for tonight's dinner.

This is what I created~ (Besides the crock pot time), this meal took about 30 min from start to finish.

1 1/2 Cups Black beans Soaked over night.
Drain and cook with water and sea salt in a crock pot from about 9 am till 5pm ish.

Take 1/2 your beans and mash leave the other 1/2 in juices

Saute your veggies ( I don't use oil)

I used:

Handful baby carrots 

1/2 and onion

6 yellow 7 orange sweet mini peppers

1 stalk of celery

(above chopped small)

2 handfuls of frozen organic corn

1 sm zucchini diced

1/2 jalapeno seeded & diced (small)

Add mashed beans & whole beans with juices to veggies

Spices:

2t Chili Powder

1/4 t crushed red pepper ~ use more if you like heat, my kids don't

1 t onion powder

1 t garlic powder

1 t cumin

3 shakes parsley

salt to taste

3 shakes of basil

Black pepper to taste

Stir.....

1/2 a fresh chopped tomato

Stir

This is nutritional yeast~ Not the kind you would use in bread.

I watch a video where they described using it like cheese, on salads, popcorn ect.

I have never had it before tonight~ it has 8g of protein for 2 T.

So we sprinkled a little on our chili to try it out~ It was GOOD

I also added some fresh avocado to my chili.

Kids gave this meal 5stars, Gunner even had seconds!

Jared made us baked sweet potato fries (no oil)

Dipped in unsweetened Ketchup! :) 

Yesterday for lunch: I made Celery Almond Soup~ Its smooth and fresh tasting like tomato soup

More Veggies is always better~ I find myself adding veggies to everything now.

Here I have red & yellow sweet mini peppers, corn, onion, cabbage

Then in my Vitamix I put in:

1/4 C Blanched (skins taken off) Raw Almond

3 C Veggie Broth

6 Stalks Celery Halved

1/8 of a lemon peel removed

Salt & pepper

But it all in the blender and creme

My blender will cook the soup if yours dose not then after it is a consistency 

like tomato soup remove and heat in a pan

Pour in bowls and top with veggies, I also added Avocado. 

I didn't put the veggies in the kids, they weren't in the mood for that

plus I made the veggies spicy with lots of chili seasoning. 

Caden says 5 Star, Gunner was more of a 3 Star