Spicy Black Bean & Corn Tortilla Soup

So yesterday I was looking in my fridge and I realized I had 6 tomatillos left from my bountiful basket that I needed to use before they went bad. Just so you know, there is an awesome website that works great in this situation. If you have not heard of it, bookmark it! I promise it will come in handy. The website is www.recipezaar.com/ This website is so awesome because if you have an ingredient you need to use, in my case tomatillos, but do not have a recipe, just go to this website and click on ingredients. Type in the ingredient that you have and it will bring up tons of recipes that utilize that ingredient. That is how I found this wonderful tortilla soup. It was so good and jam packed full of veggies. Not only did it use the rest of my tomatillos, but it also used some of the jalapenos I got in my basket as well. It was a little spicy so I would recommend only throwing in one jalapeno instead of two unless you like it hot! My kids even ate it which was a shock to me! This recipe makes a lot but I just froze our left overs. It think it will be just as great the second time around! I hope you like it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 red or chocolate bell pepper, chopped (I used a green pepper because that is what I had and it was great)
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped finely
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
6 small tomatillos, chopped
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 (14 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 (14 ounce) can mild enchilada sauce
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen tex-mex mixed vegetables (corn, black beans, onions, & peppers, or equivalent) *(I didn't have this so I just added an extra can of black beans and a can of corn and it worked just fine)*
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black & red pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
4 ounces Monterrey jack & colby cheese (shredded)
4 ounces sour cream (for garnish)
tortilla chips (for garnish)
avocado, slices (for garnish)
4 ounces pico de gallo (for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Saute' onion, garlic, & chopped peppers in oil until translucent.
2. Add: chicken or vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, black beans & corn, vegetable blend, lime juice, tomatillas, and seasonings.
3. Simmer 20-30 minutes, then thicken with 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch (add cornstarch to a small amount of cool water until dissolved, then stir into pot). If soup seems too concentrated, you may add water.
4. Simmer at a low boil for 10 minutes until thickened.
5. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo and avocado slices for garnish.