Black Bean Soup

It was -1 when I woke up this morning. I haven't seen it that cold in a LONG time. My weather station has now reached a new lowest charted temp ever since I got it 3 years ago. That makes today a good day to make soup. I did some searching around and got some ideas, mostly from A Year in the Kitchen as this most closely resembled what I wanted. I made a few changes and came up with this recipe for black bean soup. I must say myself, it's pretty darn good. Thanks Ashlee!

2 shallots, diced
2 carrots, grated
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes (low sodium if you can)
2-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP paprika
1 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper

Throw all the vegetables into a stock pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile mash about 3/4 the black beans and leave the other 1/4 whole.
When the veggies are cooked, add in the broth, beans and tomatoes. Stir in all the spices and salt & pepper. Cook on low for 30 minutes.