Stuffed Pepper Soup

Spring is in the air. The bees are buzzing; hummingbirds dive bombing almost everything in sight; there's robins taking a chunk out of our wormy lawn and teeny tiny buds on the roses but it is still soup weather here on the Oregon Coast. Thank goodness because I have a feeling we'll be having this one again in record time.

Should you be craving the taste of stuffed peppers but lacking the inclination to fuss with the darned things, this soup will soothe the savage hunger beast - no doubt. Loaded with onions, garlic, lean ground beef and of course, peppers, the addition of allspice is the real surprise to the old taste buds. Oh and fresh basil makes it extraordinary.

We can thank Rachael Ray for this one but of course I made a few JBug changes just because I'm ornery like that. I decreased the tomatoes to a 14 ounce can of diced, added a glurg (is that a word) of tomato paste and decreased the amount of orzo in the mix because I wanted to cut a few carbs and make it more of a soup than a stew. Regardless, it is fabulous and well worth whipping up at a moment's notice. 

Other stuffed pepper recipes from JBug's Kitchen:

    

Chicken Stuffed Anaheims    Stuffed Green Chiles       Mediterranean Style

 Stuffed Pepper Soup from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Rachael Ray

Cooking spray

1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

3 green bell peppers, seeded & diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Salt & black pepper

Dash red pepper flakes

1 quart low sodium chicken stock

1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with juices

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/3 cup orzo

12 fresh basil leaves, shredded

Shaved parmesan cheese

 Spray a medium pot with cooking spray and heat over medium high. When hot crumble in ground beef and cook stirring constantly until beef is no longer pink. Add garlic, onions and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables start to soften. Add bay leaf, all spice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir well to incorporate spices, lower heat to medium low and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until vegetables are soft. Stir in chicken stock, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil and stir in orzo. Reduce to low and cook until pasta is al dente – about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove pot from heat and stir in basil. Serve garnished with shaved parmesan.  Serves 4. 

 

Comments

[Lorraine]

Nice day for soup. Great idea to transform the stuffed pepper. Speeds up the process that is for sure.

[June]

Lorraine - it definitely tastes just like the original.