Vegetarian Black Bean Soup Recipe

So I decided to try something out today. I LOVE black bean soup at Panera, so I wanted to make something similar. Unfortunately, I didn't have vegetable broth at the time and couldn't go anywhere because of the snow. I did some research and combined quite a few recipes to make my own. End result: it was delicious! I tried keeping track of everything I did in case I had to share this recipe with anyone.

To be honest, I'm not sure how many servings this has made because it's still sitting in the pot. By the looks of it, it seems to be 6 cups of soup. I plan on storing it in the fridge and eating it throughout the next few days.

Ingredients:

• 26 oz of cooked black beans (made from 10 oz of uncooked black beans)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 small peeled potato
• 3-5 flowers of a cauliflower
• 5 baby carrots
• 1/2 small red pepper
• 1/2 small green pepper
• 1 large onion
• 3 garlic cloves 
• 1 Tsp cornstarch (for thickness) 
• 1/2 tomato (substitute: 4 oz of tomato puree with water)
• 2 Tbsp of cumin
• 1 Tbsp of chili powder 
• 2 Tbsp oil (any kind)
• Salt 

Steps:

1. Place baby carrots, potato and cauliflower in 4 cups of water. Add a little bit of salt for taste. Cover pot and let it boil slowly for 30-45 minutes. 
2. While that is boiling, continue with the next steps. 
3. Chop onions, garlic , red pepper and green pepper. Blend it in a food processor so it is almost in liquid form. 
4. Put oil in a pan. After heating properly, add cumin. Then, add blended mix (step 3) to the oil. Add chili powder and salt. Properly sauté this slowly. 
5. After baby carrots, potato and cauliflower have been boiling for 30-45 minutes, scoop out the vegetables and blend them in the processor. Then, add this to the pan of onions, garlic and peppers. Sauté the whole mix for approximately 5 minutes. 
6. Then add the mushy carrots, potato, cauliflower, onions, garlic, red pepper and green pepper to the leftover water from step 1. Add 16 oz. beans. (Yes, it will look really mushy and gross...but bear with it for a little while longer.) Keep the stove on low and let this mix properly. 
7. Meanwhile, blend your leftover 10 oz. black beans with the tomato and cornstarch. 
8. After the water comes to a boil, add in the blended beans and tomato. 
9. Let everything come to a boil. 
10. Taste, and add salt as needed. 
11. Enjoy!

To be honest, I'm a huge fan of spicy foods...and even for 6 cups of soup, I didn't have to add anything to the 1 tbsp of chili powder. It tasted fantastic! It was filling & healthy. Nothing but vegetables (with the nutrition!!) and beans. Let me know what you think! Oh and according to research, 1 cup seems to be approximately 100 calories. It might be a little bit more but it depends on what you add here and there.