A Different Kind of Soup

As you can see from this blog, I'm a big fan of Mexican chicken soups. However, you can only have them so often...and then you still need some other kind of soups to fill the soup void.

Here is a very quick, easy, tasty, and unique soup recipe I found in my beloved Everyday Food magazine (boo hoo! Did you know that this wonderful magazine is no more? It has been merged into Martha Stewart Living...boo hoo! I'm going to miss that magazine so much! I looked forward to getting it in the mail every month.).

Simple Red Bean-and-Rice Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced small
1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, plus more for serving if you like
5 cups chicken broth
3 cans (15.5 oz each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Salt
1/3 cup converted rice
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and bell pepper and saute until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and Cajun seasoning and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and season with salt. Simmer until broth is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the top.

Stir in rice and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add scallions and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired. (Refrigerate cooled soup in an airtight container, up to 3 days).

Source: October 2012 issue of Everyday Food...the second to last issue ever...sniff, sniff! You can find the recipe here.

Notes: I didn't have any green bell peppers, but I had yellow ones, so I used one full yellow bell pepper in this soup. Also, I thought the soup turned out plenty spicy without any additional Cajun seasoning, so I only used 4 teaspoons of it. I also used regular cooked rice since I didn't have any converted rice on hand. It worked just fine.