Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup

I made this the same day I made the 24-layer cake and the St Patrick's day punch.  I wanted a crock pot recipe for that day, because I knew the afternoon was going to be a flurry of activity.  So I threw this together in the morning, and we ate it while we were getting things ready to host home fellowship at our house.  I do not love having it here.  But sometimes I have to.  And it's better to see our friends and have me be uncomfortable for a few hours than it is to cancel and not see them at all (this is what I repeat to myself in the days and hours leading up to the event hahahahaha).  Seriously though when I grow up I want to be one of those people that loves having a house full of people.  That is just not me.  I like having people over, but one family at a time.  I prefer controlled chaos rather than outright crazy screaming chaos.  But that's just me.  Anyway it went MUCH better than our Christmas party did, where I wanted to hide in the bathroom.  So that's progress....

A few months ago my dear friend (who said she WANTS to be named in my blog) AUNDRA gave me a recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup, but made on the stovetop.  We did like that one and it was very good.  So when I saw this recipe in Simple & Delicious I knew we would like it.  Plus, crock pot.  When I've made stuffed peppers in the past, people don't really want the peppers, I've found...they just eat the filling.  And that is a lot of work to just have to throw them away.  So this recipe is a great way to get the experience of a stuffed pepper without the heartache.

One mistake I made here is that this recipe calls for one of those pouches of Uncle Ben's ready to serve rice.  But I buy big bags of rice from Sam's Club, so why do I want to buy 2 extra cups of rice for this recipe?  I didn't.  So I made the rice while I was browning the hamburger, then put it in the crockpot.  It kept right on soaking up water, even though it was already cooked.  So the result was more like a stew than a soup.  But it still tasted good.  Looks funny though.  You'll see.

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
2 med green peppers, chopped
1 pkg (8.8 oz) ready-to-serve brown rice
3 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
2 cans (15 oz each) tomato sauce
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 carton (32 oz) beef broth

In a large skillet, cook and crumble beef with the onion over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes.  Drain.  Transfer to crock pot.  Stir in remaining ingredients.

Cook covered, on low, until flavors are blended, 5-6 hours.

Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers.  To use, partially thaw in fridge overnight.  Heat through in saucepan, adding a little broth or water if necessary.

Haha see what I mean?  It tasted really good though.  And my friend who was over even took a picture of the recipe so she could make it herself.  I warned her about the rice.

This was a great recipe, and I owe it all to Aundra.  Oh, and it's naturally gluten free and dairy free too (just double check the label on the broth you buy...Swanson is GF). Everybody loves that.  Even Aundra.