Refried Bean Soup with Pace Cornbread

I'm finally getting around to posting this delicious meal. I made it last week sometime. The soup is one of the easiest recipes I have. Just throw together a few cans, heat, and eat!! The cornbread recipe is from my mother in law and is a great side for any mexican theme dinner. I haven't been cooking much since I started working again last week. Last night was movie night with me and my husband. We made out the hide away bed on one of our couches, piled on a bunch of pillows, and watched movies all night. My husband cut up salami, summer sausage, pepper jack cheese, smoked cheddar, and mild cheddar. We ate it with crackers for dinner. It was great!! We even put an ice chest next to the couch so we didn't have to walk to the kitchen. I think we'll try to make movie night a regular ritual. Anyway, back to the recipe; the soup can have so many variations to suit your needs. I'll put some of my variations in the notes below. You have to try this on a busy weeknight!!

Refried Bean Soup

1 (~15oz) can fat free refried beans (you don't have to use fat free)

1 (15 1/4oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2oz) can chicken broth

1 can rotel

1/2 cup water

1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies

1/4 cup salsa

Optional Garnishes: tortilla chips, more salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except for garnishes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with any garnishes you like.

Notes: I like to make the soup and add a dollop of daisy and some shredded cheddar to each bowl. The original recipe called for spicy refried beans, but my husband isn't fond of spicy foods. Therefore, I use regular refried beans and mild rotel. I just add a little cayenne pepper to my bowl to spice it up. As you may have noticed, there is no meat in this soup, but it is plenty hearty. My husband doesn't even usually notice the lack of meat. But, if you are a big meat eater, you could add cubed, cooked chicken.

Pace Cornbread Squares (sorry, no picture)

1 pkg. Jiffy Cornbread mix

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

In a bowl, mix all ingredients, except the cheese, very well. It will be thinner than normal cornbread batter. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Sprinkle the cheese over top and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, till center is baked. Watch so that the bottom crust doesn't overbrown.