Spicy Black Bean Soup

 We had this for dinner tonight

Nixon loved it, especially the onions!

 Ingredients

• 1 pound dry black beans, soaked overnight
• 1 small can of diced green chilies
• 1/4 an onion, chopped (white or red) - (I used 1/2, but we love onions!)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  1 TBSP corn starch (optional)
• Shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions

1. Drain black beans, and rinse.*See bottom of recipe for a quicker soaking alternative
2. Combine beans, chopped green chilies, onion and chicken broth in a slow cooker. Season with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and pepper. 
3. Cook on High for 4 hours. Reduce heat to Low, and continue cooking for 2 hours, or until you are ready to eat. (the longer the better) 
4. Top with shredded cheese

• For a thicker soup, @ step 1: blend 1/2 of the beans  with 1/2 a cup of stock and 1 TBSP of corn starch, then add to the crock pot.

* Instead of soaking beans overnight, put beans in a big pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Boil beans for 10 minutes, turn off heat, cover, and allow beans to sit for 2 hours.