food soothes the soul

I found two great recipes in Cooking Light that I used last night and wanted to share them with any readers I have who like delicious food (hopefully that's everyone).

The first recipe is a SUPER easy and quick black bean soup. It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish, including prep! Take that Rachael Ray! This soup is also very high in fiber, which is a nice health benefit. And it goes really well with tortilla chips or even better, fresh tortillas.

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, undrained
• 1/2 cup bottled salsa
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 5 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
• 5 tablespoons minced green onions
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Place beans and liquid in a medium saucepan; partially mash beans with a potato masher. Place over high heat; stir in salsa, chili powder, and broth. Bring to a boil. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese, sour cream, onions, and cilantro.

The second recipe is for pecan pumpkin bread. I love anything pumpkin, and wanted to make a snack to bring to our bible study tonight, so this recipe presented the perfect opportunity! I haven't actually tried it yet (although I was so tempted to after it came out of the oven) but after our study meets, we'll see if it passes the taste test.

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 15 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl.

Place sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add 2/3 cup water and pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.