College Kid’s Black Bean Soup-Dip
This one has been a favorite of mine for years… a staple in our house throughout the winter and an occasional dinner in the summer when we’re too lazy for anything. The consistency is between a soup and a dip, so we make the best of both worlds and forsake our spoons for this one, opting to scoop out mouthfuls on tortilla chips.
Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained (unless they’re Walmart black beans, then you need two cans… lame-o)
1 can mild Rotel or store-bought diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
a handful or so of shredded cheese (Cheddar is fine, Mexican blends are best)
spices to taste, including cumin (don’t scrimp!), garlic powder, minced onions, oregano, cilantro, coarse ground pepper, cayenne pepper or chili powder, salt, whatever else suits your fancy
Directions:
1. Dump everything except cheese into a saucepan and mix up really well; heat over medium-high heat until bubbling.
2. Stir in the cheese until melted, then reduce to mid-lo to simmer for fifteen minutes.
3. Don’t worry about perfecting the spice-flavor until everything heat releases and the beans begin to absorb (takes fifteen minutes of heat-time for this to occur). Then, take whatever you are using to scoop (spoon or chip) and dip into the pot for a taste. Change spices according to your personal preference (I basically use lots of the first four spices and go from there with whatever else I’m in the mood for). Be mindful that the longer this stuff sits, the spicier it gets, so if you’re going to store any for later, try to be kind with the hot stuff.
4. Soup-dip will thicken upon standing according to how much cheese is used, so if you want a thinner soup, allow folks to add their own cheese. Sometimes the cheese makes the soup-dip turn kind of pink, too, so if that’s not your goal, shoot for a later addition or not so much cheese. A little goes a long way with this stuff.
