A Convenient Bean Soup

Now that the weather's getting cooler, thinking about soup. My basic *convenient* soup recipe calls for a can of refried beans and fluid. The image at the top of this article is an idea guide, usable as an auxiliary shopping list. If you can boil water, you can easily make the soup.

The ratio of fluid to canned refried beans is one to one. YMMV for soup thickness, depending on the brand you buy. You might want to start out with half the amount of fluid in case the brand put in more cooking fluid for their processing. (Yes, have done that before, too.)

These instructions make one quart of soup if using a standard 16-oz can of beans. If you want, you can halve the recipe and save the other half of the beans for another time. Or you can store the other half of the processed soup for another sitting.

Instructions

1. Open the can of refried beans.
2. Spoon the beans into a saucepan.
3. Use the can to measure fluid, then pour the fluid into the saucepan.
4. Stir and heat the contents.
5. Add whatever ingredients from the list, or anything else that sounds good. (If you want, add these ingredients AFTER you pour the soup instead of before.)
6. Pour into bowl(s).

If you buy the packaged refried beans, double the amount of fluid and follow the package instructions.

One additional idea—for a group gathering, heat several cans of refried beans and water in a large pot. Set aside bouillon powder. Acquire all the suggested add-ins. Let the guests ladle their own soup and add in what they want. Remember to have extra bowls and spoons on hand. Expand on a party idea. With a bunch of the ingredients, you could even move sideways with the thought and try queso dip and chip ideas.

Another convenient soup recipe you can try is my veggie lentil soup.