Soup of many beans (four to be precise)

Admittedly, we're on a bit of a soup roll over here. Can't really explain it other than a) the weather begs for something warm, and b) the guys like it--especially the big guy. And, they are easy, for the most part. At least, the way I choose to do them.

I have been wandering around tastespotting.com and various food blogs, as is my way, and do indeed see that there ARE other things to make and eat besides soup... and I'll get to it, really; tapioca is top on my list again since I burnt a batch last week... But for now, I'm pretty content to put the pot on, go away and putter around, and come back every now and then for stirring and adjustment.

The inspiration for this was finding a couple of different soup recipes online--one used refried beans, which I've never done, and the other had green enchilada sauce in it; again, I've never tried that or even considered it. So I thought, what the hey, let's give it a whirl. It's pathetically easy really quite yummy. All you need is a can opener, almost. But the taste is really good and quite different than the other black bean soup I posted a couple of weeks back.

Four bean soup (it started out three bean, but it was a little brothy so we stepped up the beans!)
1 large onion, diced

1 15 oz can pinto beans

1 15 oz can chile beans or kidney beans

1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 ozcan refried beans

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce

1 7 oz can of green chiles

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Saute the onion in a large saucepan in a dash of vegetable oil until translucent. Add the beans (and their juices), tomatoes and enchilada sauce and heat on medium until simmering, stirring occasionally. Reduce to low for an additional 10-15 minutes. Add the cilantro and green onions, and serve. Great garnishments: crushed corn chips, avocadoes, cheddar cheese, more cilantro and green onions, and sour cream, of course! Enjoy!

The soup picture above is pre-garnishment. The one below shows what I actually had for supper... and yes, I do love me some sour cream!