Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

A flavorful,  meaty, thick soup that  you'll love if you like stuffed green peppers.  For some reason many people seem to consider soup as 'winter' food, but if you have access to a garden overflowing with green peppers in the summer, a pot of this soup is a perfect way to use them. Provided by a restaurnt in Kentucky, this recipe first appeared in Taste of Home about a dcade ago.

Make life even easier by buying a pouch of cooked rice, or make extra some night so you'll have leftovers specifically for this soup. I've used both brown rice and mixed wild-and-white rice, but plain white rice works the best.

In a large pot, brown 2 lbs. ground beef and drain it. Add 28 oz diced canned tomatoes & their juice,  28 oz tomato sauce,  8 c. water, 2 c. cooked rice, 2 c. chopped green pepper, 2 beef bouillon cubes, 1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar (use brown sugar twin or splenda if you wish), 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30-40 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Like most soups and stews,  the flavor is just as good or better when reheated.

Serves 6-8 hungry people