Mexican Corn and Bean Soup

If you use pre-packaged frozen diced onion in this recipe, you don't even need to get out a cutting board. I can't remember the last time I had so few dishes to do!

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high heat in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup frozen chopped onion (try an organic brand such as Columbia River frozen foods), 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger (or 1 teaspoon minced fresh), and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano. Cook 1 and 1/2 minutes.

Add 1 cup frozen corn, 1 (14-ounce) can of vegetable broth, 1 (15-ounce) can of rinsed and drained black beans, 1 (14-ounce) can of diced tomatoes and green chiles (try the one from Whole Foods' 365 brand) and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Ladle 1 and 2/3 cups soup into each of 3 bowls. Garnish each with a wedge of lime; each serving is 240 calories.

Cost:
frozen onion $1.99
frozen corn $1.99
vegetable broth $1.49
black beans $1.79
canned diced tomato and green chiles $0.99
lime $0.33