Stuffed Pepper Soup

I don't know about you but I love stuffed peppers - they can just be such a pain to make.  So, I found a recipe for a stuffed pepper soup and made it my own.  The original recipe came from http://www.cookinglight.com/ . 

This soup is really quick and easy to put together and many of you probably have most of the ingredients on hand.  On days when I have some extra time, I cook up a bunch of ground beef with onions, rinse and drain when the beef is cooked through, then divide among freezer bags for later use.  I also chop up green peppers when I can find them at the store or Farmer's market for a good price and freeze those for later use.  The ones I used today were from my garden !

This soup is great when topped with shredded cheddar cheese and served with corn bread.  Let me know if you try this one and if you come up with some interesting twist.  For instance, I like my stuffed pepper soup to have a distinct Mexican vibe so I add salsa and corn and black beans occasionally .  What would you add to make it your own??

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1/2 pound lean ground beef such as ground round
2 cups chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
14 ounce reduced sodium beef broth
1 jar salsa (about 1 1/2 cups) - you choose the heat level you like (I used homemade from the freezer and it was nice and zippy)
10 3/4 ounce can tomato soup, undiluted (I used the tomato soup with the rice already in it - saved time)
3/4 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups hot cooked rice

Heat a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. (If you have a lot of fat in the pan from the beef, drain and rinse under hot water for about 20 seconds to remove some of the fat and return to Dutch oven).  Add chopped green pepper and onion; cook 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in black pepper, beef broth, salsa, tomato soup and corn; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve with 1/4 cup rice and 1 cup soup.