Sunday, February 07, 2021

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Well Alberta has gone from a beautifully mild winter so far in comparison to the usual to being slammed into a "polar vortex" for this week.  The whiplash weather continues.  It seems this last 12 months or so we have not eased into anything and that includes weather changes.  It's one end of the pendulum or the other.  So with this kind of weather my immediate thoughts turn to comfort food and my all time favorite since a kid is soups.  I love all kinds of soup.  So warming and delicious and nutritious if you make it from scratch.  I needed something quick and easy after a long work day the other day and Stuffed Pepper soup came to mind.  It fit the bill for everything I wanted.  There are a few recipes out there but this is the way I make mine.

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

- 1 1/2 - 2  lbs lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 bell peppers (any color), deseeded and chopped in bite size pieces
                             (I used 1 red and 1 orange)
- 2 large cloves garlic, crushed or minced
- 1 (28 oz/796ml) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 jar of roasted red pepper spaghetti sauce**
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped or 2 tsp dry
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano 
-1 cup rice, white or brown
                     (I used brown)
- sour cream (optional)

**Edited to Add:  If you can't find roasted red pepper spaghetti sauce, you can use any red sauce that contains basil and oregano and add some roasted red peppers available packed in jars.  If that doesn't suit you just use any spaghetti sauce with peppers, oregano and basil in it.  You won't get the roasted flavor but you can still get a great soup!  

Heat a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add oil and chopped onion.  Cook until almost translucent.  Add garlic and ground beef and a pinch of salt.  Scramble fry until ground beef is cooked thru.  Drain fat.

Add rest of ingredients, bring to a boil.  Turn down to med low or low and simmer for 20 mins for white rice and 45 for brown rice stirring occasionally.  If you like you soup a bit thinner you can add more beef broth.  Right before serving add a sprinkle of more fresh chopped parsley for color.  Salt and pepper to taste

Now American stuffed pepper recipes call for grated cheese over the top but I am Hungarian background so that would never happen.  We like a nice big dollop of sour cream.  










6 comments:

Buttercup said...

I'm with you on putting cheese on stuffed pepper. Eastern European and kosher growing up, so we didn't do cheese. Perfect food for our snowy days in NYC.

ellen b. said...

I'm with you, pass the sour cream! Looks like a great recipe, Susanne!

Karen said...

This looks so good. I love stuffed peppers and this looks a bit less labor intensive. Soups are just fun to make. Stay warm;)

Mom24 said...

Looks delicious! Would you please share what brand red pepper pasta sauce you use? I'm having a hard time finding one.

Susanne said...

Mom24: Hi I used President’s Choice (a Canadian Brand thru Real Canadian Superstore and Loblaws stores). Not sure if other brands have it or not, I’ve never looked at the other brands. If you can’t find it you can just use a similar red pasta sauce that contains peppers or add some roasted red peppers, available in jars, to any red pasta sauce like a tomato/basil/oregano. I hope that helps.

Faith said...

I LOVE STuffed Pepper soup. Mine is a bit different but ANY Soup is so good on these cold winter nights. I actually posted my recipe earlier this month (or maybe it was January). My family loves it. I replace the beef with bison or with vegan "beef" (made with pea protein and beets, etc). SO GOOD. Tonight's menu is Tomato0-Basil ORzo soup and grilled cheese on mini naans. followed by something chocolate dave bought for valentine's weekend. stay warm!