Bargains, Soup and Kitty Pile Ups!

I found these quinoa chips on clearance for $.91 and the burgers on clearance for $1.61!! I haven't tried the burgers yet, but the chips are really delicious. They pretty much taste like regular potato chips, just less greasy. Kind of like a cross between a Sun Chip and a potato chip. I wish I would have bought more than one bag. I've never tried Sunshine burgers, but they're vegan, gluten free and soy free and at that price why not try them. They're usually five or six dollars for three burgers so this was a steal. They're made out of brown rice, pinto beans and sunflower seeds plus spices so they sound pretty good.

I picked up a few non clearance items too. Black and garbanzo beans, tomato paste, a red and green jalapeno, avocado, red onion red pepper and most important, chocolate!
I feel like I got to excited about Spring coming, because yesterday the temps went back into winter territory. And this morning I woke up to a light snowfall. NOOOOOOOOOOO! I was craving soup yesterday when I got home, so I whipped up a smoky and spicy black bean soup. I had it with some Basmati rice and a side of guacamole. The soup turned out really tasty, and I actually wrote down what I did!

                                                            Smoky Spicy Black Bean Soup

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 red onion, minced
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno minced
• 1 T. pickled jalapeno
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 3/4 T. Smoked Paprika
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 C. water
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a large sauce pan/soup pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about fifteen minutes. Take about half of the soup and put it in a blender(be careful) and blend. Add blended soup back to the pan, and let simmer for about twenty minutes. Serve on it's own, or over some rice. I added a bit more nutritional yeast and some crushed red pepper at the end. This is a very filling and tasty soup! Feel free to use the whole red onion, I just saved a bit for the guacamole!

This cute pile up was happening yesterday as I was getting ready to leave. It's like they predicted the snow before it happened and had the right idea as to how to deal with it! I've just accepted that I may never get to properly make my bed again, and I've become okay with it!