Fall in love recipes

Slow-Cooker Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Stuffed bell peppers reincarnated in a soup! With ground beef, rice, peppers, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese in a spicy broth.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 big bell peppers, diced (I used one green and one red)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed between fingertips
• coarse salt and fresh black pepper
• 1 + 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) petite diced tomatoes
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces) low-sodium beef or chicken broth or a mix (I used 2 beef + 1 chicken)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 + 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish
• about 1 + 1/2 cups cooked brown or white rice

Instructions

1.     Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large skillet and add the onions, bell peppers, garlic and Italian seasoning. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until tender about 10 minutes. Remove to crock-pot.
2.     In the same pan brown the ground beef over medium heat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain off the grease and add the meat to the crock-pot.
3.     Mix in the tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, about 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6 - 8.
4.     During the last hour skim off any grease that rises to the top. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste and re-season as needed. Mix in the cheese.
5.     To serve spoon some rice into a bowl, ladle the soup over it and mix together, garnish with a little cheese. Alternately you can mix the cooked rice right into the soup - it may soak up some of the broth so I like to keep it separate.