Stuffed Pepper Soup

I love Stuffed Peppers, but I'm too busy to take the time to prepare them. Also, with cold weather seasons being so short where I live, it's usually too warm to fire up the oven to make the real deal. So, I deconstructed my recipe and adapted it to the Slow Cooker and turned it into a soup. Feel free to try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef (I use ground brisket)

2 Bell Peppers, chopped (green is best, but use what you have)

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 T Dried Parsley

1 14 oz. Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

1 8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce

2 T Tomato Paste

1 Cup White Rice, Uncooked

1 T Beef Base (or a Beef Bouillon cube)

4 Cups boiling water

Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and add the peppers, onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. drain all of the fat away and place the mixture into the slow cooker. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and cover and cook on high for 8 hours (my slow cooker seems a lot cooler than most, so adjust the time if needed). If when the soup is finished it seems a little thin to you, just add a tablespoon of cornstarch to some water and add it to the soup and allow it to cook for a few minutes to thicken it up!

I love this recipe served with garlic bread on the side!  Enjoy!!

This will make about 6 hearty servings and it costs me around $1.30 per serving (less when I can find the bell peppers on special).  A really great meal at a great price!  This is an easy recipe to adjust, as well.  For instance:

• Substitute a half of a head of shredded cabbage for the peppers and you have Stuffed Cabbage Soup
• Substitute a 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables for the peppers and you have Vegetable Beef with Rice Soup
• Take the Vegetable Beef with Rice Soup and replace the rice with two handfuls of small elbow pasta for a different variation

I could go on, but you get the idea! Enjoy making the recipe your own!