Recipe Rave: Fiesta Sweet Potato Soup

A few weeks ago, the kids and I had lunch with my mom and she served us some yummy soup. I loved it, but hadn't gotten around to making it myself till last night. I have a hubby who is not a fan of beans, so I wasn't sure how well this would go over, but he said I could try it. :) Well, he said it was "good"--which means it might not be his favorite soup ever, but he wouldn't be totally opposed to me making it again. ;) And actually, I think this would be just as good without the sausage, in which case I could make a batch of it for just me and eat it for lunch for a week!

Anyway, here's the recipe, and I'll note at the end the changes I made to it.

Fiesta Sweet Potato Soup

(original recipe from Taste of Home)

1 package (9 oz) fully cooked spicy chicken sausage links, chopped

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, diced

2 T. olive oil

2 t. ground cumin

2 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained

1 can (14.5 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained

2 T. minced fresh cilantro

Sour cream and thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, saute the sausage, sweet potatoes, onion and pepper in oil until onion is tender. Add cumin; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cilantro.
• Garnish servings with sour cream and green onions. Yield: 6 servings (2 1/4 quarts)

Notes: I used Italian turkey sausage instead of chicken sausage because it was cheaper. Like I mentioned above, I think this soup would be just as tasty without any meat, though! I only used about a third of an onion because hubby isn't a big fan. I also forgot to add the cilantro, and it was great without (although I'd like to try it with, sometime--I think it would add a nice dimension. We did garnish with sour cream and that added even more flavor, but if you want to cut some fat/calories, the soup is great without it. I also forgot about the green onions, but we didn't miss them. :) And I threw in some leftover rice, too, which I think is why the soup ended up looking more like stew--but it was still good that way!

So there you have it--a new yummy soup recipe to try! This was packed full of flavor and it's pretty healthy, too. Enjoy!