Name: Pork Carnitas Black Bean Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 h 20 min
Total time: 8 h 40 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Tex Mex
Ingredients: 4 lbs pork shoulder; trimmed OR pork steaks; 1 tbsp chili powder; 1 tbsp ancho chili powder; 1 tsp cumin; 2 tsp dried oregano; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 2 oranges; zested and juiced; 2 limes; juiced; 4 cloves garlic; minced; 6 cups shredded pork carnitas (above); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion; diced; 2 cloves garlic; finely minced; 2 tbsp chili powder; 1 tbsp cumin; 1 tbsp oregano; 8 cups (2 L) chicken stock; 28 oz diced tomatoes; 2 - 14 oz cans black beans; drained and rinsed; hot sauce (optional)

Get the Recipe

I heard recently that soup swaps are the new cookie swaps. While I am unsure that soup will EVER replace cookies, swapping soup among friends is a great way to have a handy lunch in the freezer for those days when you are feeling under the weather or just plain lazy. I usually fall into the latter category.

Lunch Sucks

Now is the time for me to admit to you all that I absolutely hate making lunch. For me, it’s the worst meal of the day because it has to be small, yet satisfying (and not boring!). Most of the time when I cook, I like to go big. Since I work from home, it’s easy to look up from my keyboard and notice that it’s 2 pm and I haven’t eaten any lunch, or worse yet…anything at all. Suddenly I am starving! Usually I end up making scrambled eggs and toast because it’s easy and filling and I refuse to have canned soup in the pantry. Now that I’ve done my first soup exchange, my freezer is stocked and there are no excuses.

A lively and satisfying fridge soup made using leftover pork carnitas and black beans. #soup #leftovers #fridgesoup #porkcarnitassoup

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Fridge Soup

The soup that I made for our Bite Club exchange took very little time to make since I had some leftover Pork Carnitas in the fridge. This is a quick, meaty and warming soup for those very cold days when you wish you were on a sunny beach somewhere. Since I was making it for an exchange, I didn’t add any spice to it but I think you could add some chili flakes or float a cut chili in the soup as it’s cooking. Alternatively, add some hot sauce just before you eat it for that extra kick.

Tips on Hosting a Soup Swap

Here are some tips on hosting/participating in a soup swap.

Limit the number of people. 6 seems to be a good number as not many people make more than 6 litres of soup at a time.
Make sure everyone knows what kind of dietary restrictions/allergies are required.
Include the recipe for your soup, reheating instructions, and if any extra stock will be needed for serving it.
Freeze your soup in 1 litre portions ahead of time.
If you use glass jars to freeze your soup, make sure there’s a LOT of room for expansion. No one likes glass in their soup.
Here’s a great chance to use up all of your ‘Ukrainian Tupperware’. Reuse margarine and yoghurt containers.
Don’t cheap out. No, I don’t want your 500 ml of soup for my full litre.

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If you make this Pork Carnitas Black Bean Soup recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in the ratings. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!

Yield: 12 bowls