Here are a couple I have copied and pasted. Lpink's Black Bean Soup with Red Paprika Sauce (This is Lori from near the Battle Creek area) Serves 8 1 lb. bag dried black beans (soak in 4x their volume of water overnight. Drain before cooking) 8 cups water or broth, (I always use broth. For me it's veggie bouillon, but you could use chicken or beef I guess.) 2 med. onions, chopped 2 ribs celery, diced 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I use canned) 2 TBSP paprika (I use Penzey's brand, I have both sweet and hot and I mix the two, but use whatever kind you like to your taste.) 2 tsp. ground cumin 2 bay leaves 1/2 cup cilantro, finely minced (Note: I just add a TBSP or so of dried cilantro or parsley, because I rarely have fresh stuff around, it goes bad on me before I can use it up) 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 cup corn Note: DON'T add salt while the beans are cooking, this toughens their skins. Simmer beans in the broth until soft. Could take 1-2 hours on the stovetop. I do my beans in the crock pot on high for about 5 hours minimum, I add the veggies and spices right at the beginning, except for the corn, which I use frozen so it doesn't need to cook. If you're making the soup on the top of the stove, add veggies and spices during the last hour of cooking. Add sauce (recipe below) before serving. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. Red Paprika Sauce 2 TBS olive oil 1 large red pepper diced or sliced thin 3 scallions, minced 2 tsp. paprika, or less, to taste 2 tsp. salt 2 TBS lime juice Saut� pepper and scallions in the olive oil. Add the paprika and other seasonings. Add lime juice just before taking it off the stove. Additonal note: You can add browned turkey sausage to this soup along with the veggies with excellent results. That's how I make it to please the meat-eaters. Use hot or regular sausage, depending on your taste. The soup is delicious served with a dollop of low fat sour cream or yogurt. You can stir in the sauce to the soup and then freeze. You can leave out the corn, but it is colorful with the red pepper. You can puree some of the soup before adding the veggies or pepper sauce or sausage. It's just a great mixture of flavors however you adapt it. You could even add a little garlic, good for the heart. I like to make the soup in the crock pot, except for the peppers. Don't cook peppers in a crock pot because they get bitter. I have made this soup for a crowd and it was very well received. Laurie ____________________________________________________________________ Jayne's Black Bean Soup (Jayne hails from Indianapolis) 1 pound bag of black beans (soak overnight and rinse very well) I put them in a crock pot to cook all day. I add vegetable stock (or water if I don't have the stock). Then finely chopped garlic, onions, celery and carrot and pepper (green or jalapeno or both). I usually don't add meat, but sometimes will add small cubes of very lean ham. I season with salt, pepper and cumin. I've wanted to try adding sherry (per a friends instruction), but haven't tried that yet. Today, I read a recipe that called for adding balsamic vinegar, but I haven't tried that either. Near the end of cooking, I take out a cup or so and puree it, then add it back to the pot so it's nice and thick. I serve it over brown rice, although yellow is good too. I top it with hot sauce and chopped onion. Sour cream sounds good, but I don't need the extra calories (I would have to have a huge dollop). Angie's (Opkikid) Black Bean Soup (Angie is from Chicago) This makes a lot � you can cut the recipe in half or more. This can cook all day at a simmer, if you like. � lb bacon 10 carrots, diced 6 cloves garlic, minced � tsp cayenne pepper � cup (yes, cup!) of each: ground cumin and oregano 6 15 oz cans of black beans, drained 5 (20 cups) quarts of chicken broth � cup sherry or white wine

Well thanks ya'll. I just dug up this thread when ysop was looking for senate bean soup recipe. Glad you and your family enjoyed it Judi. Smiles. I eat soup for breakfast and lunch generally until I'm done with the curernt batch that is unfrozen. I just finished my first gallon of lentil soup, so tonight I am going to brine the beans for this bean soup. I just started brining the beans in the past six months or so and can't believe the difference. The skins are so much more tender and it takes a lot less time to cook the whole soup. The outcome is that you can cook it till the beans are tender without having all the skins come off and floating around. I had just bought a ham to use mostly for soups and froze quart bags of meat and skins to use, but also have the big bone, soooo.. this time I'm making 4 lbs at a time so I can use the big bone. Ah... happy camper. Time to start some artisan bread to go with.

Here's the thread; scroll down to brianadarnell! http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1019341021161.html Very, very easy. Just dump in a bunch of ingredients. She got it from The Food Network, and you can substitute home-roasted pumpkin beautifully. Here is a link that might be useful: Food Network

I like the sound of the Black Bean Soup from Suzieque. This recipe’s been a favorite for a long time since finding it in Bon Appetit. My notes have “Feb. 2005.” Maybe the same as girlnamedgalez8a mentioned. I’ve included it for many of our Halloween soup parties. Black Bean and Kielbasa Chili Serves 6 Note: Better if made 1-2 days ahead. I prefer this without the green pepper. I use 1 red and 1 yellow or orange bell pepper. I also like to add a little corn...frozen is fine. 2 T. olive oil 1 1/2 pounds beef or turkey kielbasa, quartered lengthwise, then chopped into 1/2-inch pieces 2 cups chopped onions 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 4 large cloves garlic, chopped 4 15-oz. cans black beans, drained 1 14-oz. can low-salt chicken broth 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes in juice 3 T. chili powder 2 T. sugar 2 T. red wine vinegar 3 small bay leaves 1 T. dried oregano (I used a little less) 2 tsp. cumin Sour cream Chopped green onion Heat olive oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat. Sauté kielbasa until beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer kielbasa to bowl with slotted spoon. If necessary, add enough oil to pot to measure about 2 T. (or discard all but 2 T. of drippings). Add onions, peppers and garlic. Sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add beans, broth, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, sugar, vinegar, bay leaves, oregano and cumin. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Return kielbasa to pot. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until chili is thick, stirring occasionally, about 30-40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with toppings of sour cream and chopped green onion (shredded cheese and olives are good, too).