Spicy Black Bean Soup

Spicy black bean soup....what else can I say? I know this looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's really easy and you can turn it into a vegan version by using only water instead of chicken broth. Mr. M doesn't normally like soup, but he ate 2 bowls tonight! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat for 1 minute. Add onion, celery, garlic, greenonion, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook, stirring regularly, for 8 minutes. Add beans, chickenstock, water, cumin, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and cilantro, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. You can either serve the soup as is or pulse in a blender to make it a thicker soup.