Something easy for a rainy or snowy evening. You don't have to spend all your time in the kitchen. You can prepare this a few hours or a few minutes before dinner -- your choice, or stick the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning before you leave for work. Either way, it's fast, it's cheap, and it's good for you. Not to mention it's yummy!

For 2-4 servings

1 can black beans (I like Westbrae), drained, rinsed if you like
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock, homemade preferably, but canned is fine
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tabasco if you like some heat

Heat all in a large pot over medium heat. (If doing it in the slow cooker, set it on low, and understand that the beans will get mushier than if you did this a few minutes before dinner instead.) That's it!

Some things that might be nice to put into the soup if you have it:

Sliced mushrooms
A bit of ground meat, or cooked shredded chicken (if using fresh ground meat -- pork, turkey or beef will be fine to use here -- add 20 minutes to the cooking time, but do use a slow simmer)
A cup or so of corn kernels, fresh or frozen
Chilies, canned or fresh, but if you can roast a fresh one in the oven, a poblano for instance, then chop it up, it would be SOOO good.
Other beans if you like, canned of course for convenience
Rice if you want to up the carbs a bit, or tiny pasta like ditalini
Diced or little veggies, like carrots or peas

Some lovely, fresh additions that diners can put in themselves at the table:

chopped avocado
chopped cilantro
minced fresh onion
freshly squeezed lime juice
shredded lettuce
Mexican cotija or queso fresco, shredded

See how many fabulous soups you can come up with, with just a few ingredients? It's almost like making Stone Soup. :)

Enjoy innovating!