Veggie Filled Black Bean Soup

I'm not sure how or why I hadn't made black bean soup before. Well, now I have and I am hooked! There are more beans in there than it may appear, but in traditional Amy fashion I added a lot of veggies as well. I mashed up some of the black beans to give the broth and thicker, beanier texture and that worked out pretty well. Yet another soup that I would love to make again!

Veggie Filled Black Bean Soup
How I Did It:

2 28oz cans of San Marzano diced tomato (with juice)
3 cups water

1/2 onion
1/2 celery heart, diced
5 carrots, peeled and diced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cauliflower head, diced
4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp garlic
3 tsp thyme
3 tsp cumin
3 tsp oregano

1 bag baby spinach, de-stemmed

1. In a large pot on high, dump in water and onions. While onions are cooking dice up your other vegetables. Put the carrots and celery in first, adding them as they are ready. Keeping the water boiling, add in the diced tomatoes. Add the peppers and cauliflower as they are ready.

2. Add 3 cans of black beans and stir in well, breaking up some of the beans. Take the last rinsed can of beans and mash up before also stirring into the pot. Stir hard for a few minutes to break down the beans and create a thicker base. Add the spices and stir hard again and then stir in the spinach.

3. Once everything has been added, keep the soup on medium-high and stir hard every few minutes for at least 30 minutes.

4. Serve immediately and store the rest in the refrigerator for up to a week.