• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• 16 oz ground turkey or ground bison
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 16 oz can small diced tomatoes or 3 large tomatoes with juice diced small
• 1/2 cup baby carrots chopped
• 1/2 cup celery chopped
• 1/4 cup green pepper chopped
• 4 oz can diced green chiles
• 1/4 cup of corn
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 16 oz can of refried black beans (be sure to get refried beans!!!)
• Garnish (optional)
• 1/4 cup, loosely packed, chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup, cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 cups of tortilla chip strips
• Juice of 1 large lime
• Cumin and chile powder to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic in the pot until onion begins to caramelize. Add the meat and brown. As the meat is cooking, use the spatula to separate it into very fine pieces, the smaller the pieces, the more flavorful the soup.
2. Add the spices and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the veggies and add the tomatoes with their juice- simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring mixture to a simmer, turn down heat and allow to gently simmer while covered, for 10 minutes. Add in beans and stir until liquid is smooth- simmer 15 more minutes or until veggies are soft but not mushy. Remove soup from heat and stir.
3. Garnish with cilantro, cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, lime juice, cumin and chile powder.

We were stuck in a Colorado blizzard when we first made this soup and we wanted to warm up with a hearty but healthy meal. It is slightly different from a lot of other soups because refried beans are added to the broth rather than whole beans.