Sweet Potato Rice and Bean Soup

This soup could also be called "pantry soup" because it's great for those days when you haven't been to the store in a while and need to use up your food storage. I originally got this recipe from here: I was looking for a recipe with sweet potatoes, rice, and beans, and this one had all three listed. It wasn't until I started making the soup that I realized that the sweet potatoes were just supposed to be a side dish!

However, I think the sweet potatoes are they key to this creamy and mellow tasting soup. They neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes and tomato sauce and lend a very mellow and delicious flavor.

Ingredients:

1 can red beans

1 can black beans

1-2 cups uncooked rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 can (1 cup frozen) corn

1 can sweet potatoes (you can use fresh, but the canned ones worked nicely)

3 cloves smooshed garlic

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

6 cups of water (add more as necessary)

Spices to taste (I used my own random concoction of chicken spice and Italian spice)

I just threw everything in the pot and added rice and water until it looked like a good consistency. I like my soups less "soupy" and more "meaty," so I added more rice and less water. It's pretty bland without the spices so I recommend a liberal dose of whatever spices you want.

And seriously, the sweet potatoes add a really nice mellow flavor. This is a great autumn or winter dish.

(And sorry, I didn't add a picture because it tastes much better than it looks!)