Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup

I have never intended for my blog to include a lot of recipes, but when I find a good one, I can't help but pass it along. Tonight's dinner was deliciously incredible. It wasn't necessarily a hit with the younger children, but the older ones, along with Tim and I, wholeheartedly enjoyed every spoonful. This recipe, as with the previous recipe, was found in Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining cookbook. This particular cookbook is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup

Three 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (Opps, I just read the 'rinsed and drained' part for the first time. I did not rinse and drain them and the recipe was perfect.)
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained (I used tomatoes that we canned from last summer's garden.)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large shallots, chopped (Our local grocery store doesn't carry these, so my soup was shallot-less.)
3-4 cloves garlic, to your taste, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups beef broth
One 16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin (I used freshed baked pumpkin from last summer's garden.)
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (Once again, our local grocery store doesn't carry this, so I used apple cider vinegar.)
Salt to taste
Sour cream for garnish
Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish (I opted not to use these.)


1. Place the beans, tomatoes, onion, shallots, garlic, cumin, broth, pumpkin, and sherry in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.

2. Puree the soup in the cooker with a handheld immersion blender or in batches in a food processor or blender. Add the vinegar and stir to combine. Add salt if necessary. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.

3. Enjoy.