Spicy Vegetable Soup

You control how spicy this soup is—if you like it hotter, dice the adobo peppers finely and use two or three. If you don’t want it hot, then use one and either don’t dice it at all or cut it into large pieces. The heat comes from the seeds in the pepper and when they get diced, they get hot. The adobo sauce isn’t (or shouldn’t be) hot; it’s just flavorful. I’ve also found that the Lacostena brand is hotter than the Hernandez brand. I prefer Hernandez for the flavor.

As written, this soup makes about eight to 10 servings, depending on how much water/broth I add.

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (we use fire-roasted)
28 ounces chicken broth or water or a combination
2 C frozen corn OR one can corn, drained
1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 pound celery, diced
1 small or ½ large white onion, diced
3 or 4 small red potatoes, diced
1 to 3 adobo peppers, diced or a packet of taco seasoning
1 can pinto or black beans, drained

Directions:

• Saute all the vegetables, beans and potatoes in a skillet (I use a bit of canola oil) until the onion and celery are softened.
• Stir in the beans.
• If you are using the taco seasoning, sprinkle over the vegetables and stir. Cook just a bit longer til bubbly. 
• If you are using the adobo peppers, add to the skillet and stir. 
• Put the vegetables in the slow cooker and add the tomatoes and broth.
• If needed, add water to almost fill the slow cooker. 
• Cook on high for about eight hours.

Go here for nutritional information per serving.