Recipes: Stuffed Pepper Soup

This easy and delicious soup was my "intuitive soup" of the day yesterday. I had three lovely red peppers in my fridge and I knew that I wanted to use them to make soup.  I also had leftover brown rice, so I thought, "mmm, stuffed pepper soup." Stuffed peppers are good, sure, but I love stuffed pepper soup. You get the same flavors with half the work. And, actually, half the peppers, too. (Have red peppers, but don't want soup? Try my Red Pepper Jelly recipe.)

I make all of my soup in a crockpot because I like to be able to throw all the ingredients together and walk away. A few hours later, the house smells delicious and I know soup is ready to eat. I made a batch of gluten-free English muffins to go with the soup. They aren't quite the same as "regular" English muffins, but that's okay, because they are better. They are like a cross between English muffins and biscuits, and they are so, so good. I didn't have any olive oil when I made this last batch, so I used melted butter, woohoo! They are certainly not the healthiest, but they are delicious. I can't decide which ones I like better.

On to the soup...





Stuffed Red Pepper Soup

You'll need:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium vidalia onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced thinly
2 large sweet red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 24 oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used Aldi's store brand, mushroom flavor)
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups cooked brown rice*
2 cups water
1/4 cup Vogue veggie base broth powder (or your choice of broth powder)

(*If you don't have leftover rice, add uncooked rice, about 3/4 cup, and extra water, 1 cup for white, 2 cups for brown should do it.)

Turn the crockpot on high.

Brown the beef in a large pot, breaking up into small chunks. Drain and lightly rinse the beef when it's browned. Note: the beef doesn't have to be cooked the whole way through, just browned mostly.

In a large crockpot, add: onions, celery, peppers, beef, tomatos, sauce, and rice, in that order. No need to stir just yet. Pour in enough water to cover, leaving about 1 inch from the top of the crock. Add the broth powder and stir lightly just at the top to start it mixing in. Cover and wander away.

After an hour, stir everything together well. Cook for a few more hours, until the soup is bubbling and hot. You want the vegetables to be tender; the celery takes the longest, though, really, you can eat this as soon as its hot. I usually start this in the morning, just before lunch-time, and serve it for dinner. This soup will freeze well and keep well in the fridge. It might thicken a bit, just add a little water before re-heating. Serve with your choice of crusty bread.