Bean and Pumpkin Soup

I bought a bag of beans almost a year ago that was labeled as a soup mix, but I never made it. (After preparing kidney beans and chickpeas that I didn't eat, I just left all the bags of beans to sit on the cabinet shelf.) Then I saw a recipe in November for black bean soup that used canned pumpkin. It sounded really good. I've made black bean soup before. I've made pea soup before. Why couldn't I use my random can of pumpkin (seriously, I'm not sure when or why this small can was purchased) and my bag of mixed beans? I had a cold, I needed something soupy. While it tasted good, this was not the cure for a sore throat. The finished product was like a bean chili. I keep asking LV if he wants some. He keeps saying no.

Chicken and Tomato Alfredo

Now a regular part of the rotation, here is more fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken and tomatoes. This was another installment in the adventures of figuring out how to expand the recipe from 8 ounces to 12 ounces (the full box so that there can be leftovers). I think this batch of sauce turned out a bit better than the first attempt to expand the recipe.

Earlier in the day, I made a batch of spring pea soup. (I think that was the name of of it...) With lemon juice and fresh mint, this was even better than the black bean soup.

Black Bean Soup

A month ago, I bought all kinds of dried beans, but never really figured out what to do with them. Batches of red beans and chickpeas mostly went to waste, sitting too long in the fridge, waiting to be added to salads or other dishes.

Then I saw a recipe for black bean soup. I thought the idea sounded wonderful--despite having not really eaten any of the beans I'd already bought. The recipe was really exciting to me because all I needed was a regular pot and a blender. The end results were way better than the black soup I order from our local take-out.