Spring Is Late? Have Some Stuffed Pepper Soup

There's no use complaining about the weather, is there?  Still, we do.

After living in western Pennsylvania for most of my life, I should be used to long and cold  winters. And I guess I am.

Usually, come February, I ache to be able to mow the yard or weed the garden. (Let's see if I remember that in June.)

And now it's the end of March, and we're still mucking frozen horse sh*t in the barn every morning and pounding frozen water out of the drinking buckets.

Enough is enough. It has been one, l-o-o-o-n-g winter. And so, we complain. Mr. Rosemary said:

   "We just have two seasons: winter and non-winter."

Let's just suck it up and remind ourselves that spring will come. Or maybe we'll just go straight into summer.

At any rate, these cold days are great excuses to make hearty, comforting soups -- like this stuffed pepper soup.

I have to admit, I'd never made stuffed pepper soup before, mostly because Mr. Rosemary isn't a fan of stuffed peppers in the first place. I reasoned, though, if he likes chili, he's got to like this, too.

He loved it. And while it was good,  I thought it needed a little something more. I've been advised, though, not to change a thing.

And so I won't.

        


Stuffed Pepper Soup
adapted from All Recipes
makes about 8 servings

2 pounds ground beef (or turkey; I used a mix of ground beef and venison)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce                     }I used the equivalent of my own
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice  }tomato sauce which is pretty chunky!
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 cups cooked white rice
Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, brown the meat over medium heat for about 5 minutes and drain off any fat.

Add the chopped pepper and onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the they're softened.  Add all the remaining ingredients -- except the rice -- and simmer, covered for at least 20 or 30 minutes. Then add the cooked rice and heat through. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese.