Stuffed Pepper Soup

One of Shawn's all-time favorite meals is stuffed peppers. And its specific to who makes them. They have to be Cheryl's stuffed peppers. I will side with him that they are pretty darn good. Ok...they are awesome. There!

So I was cruising through the food section on the app that I am addicted to these days (you know the one) and saw a recipe for stuffed pepper soup from The Country Cook's blog. I was inspired but knew that I could make a few changes to it to make it my own and more in line with the stuffed pepper flavor that our family loves.

I got all the ingredients ready and started making it and could tell that by the smell of the kitchen, that it was going to be darn tasty. And it was!!! I even took some over to my dad for dinner that night (because he hadn't' eaten and he wanted to see the new car Shawn and I bought). He was very hesitant of a soup inspired by a meal but yesterday I got a text that said "Soup was TASTY! Share the recipe please". Well Dad, you got it!!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. As written below, it is for a stove top, but can easily be adapted into a crock pot method. At the end of the recipe will be how to do it in the crock pot.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (29 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes, preferably seasoned with garlic and oregano

1 can (14oz) tomato sauce (or Italian Sauce)

1 - 14oz can beef broth

2 cups cooked rice

1 T. white sugar

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried oregano

1 T. dried minced onion

salt and pepper, to taste

shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for garnish (optional but strongly suggested!!)

1) In your large stock pot, brown your beef for 4-5 minutes. Add your peppers, onion, and garlic and continue to cook until cooked through.

2) Drain off grease and put back into the pot.

3) Add in garlic powder, oregano and minced onion.

4) Stir in canned tomatoes, beef brother and tomato sauce.

5) Add sugar and salt and pepper and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to cook for two hours.

6) Add in your rice during the last 15 minutes and serve.

You can choose to cut the cooking time down but I believe that a good flavorful soup comes from allowing it to cook on low for a few hours. If you choose to make this a quick soup, add in your rice with the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes and serve.

*To make this in a crock pot, follow the directions as written through step 5. You'll put all the ingredients into the crock pot set on low and cook for 4-6 hours. When you come home, add in the cooked rice and turn on high for 30 minutes or so. Then serve.

I garnish mine with a good pinch of cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Dinner is served!

*recipe adapted from www.thecountrycook.net, photo courtesy of www.ziplist.com)