Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed peppers have always been one of my favorites – a little rice, sausage, spice, and a whole lot of flavor! Such a well-balanced meal. If it wasn’t already tasty as ever, can you imagine it undone and say, in a bowl? Yeah, yeah, yeah – this is what dreams are made of. I’ve had quite the taste for stuffed peppers lately and satisfied my craving in a delightful way: soup.

It’s even more fitting for a cold, rainy day like today — come on, Michigan… summer is right around the corner!

Here is what you’ll need:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 1/2 green bell peppers, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/12 cup brown rice, uncooked
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (more or less, depending on your spice preference)
Salt and pepper to taste
Green onions, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large pot – cook sausage on medium-high heat until browned and thoroughly cooked, breaking up into pieces while cooking (about 10 minutes). Add peppers and onion; cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce – bring to a low simmer. Add rice and chicken broth. Slowly stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil – simmer on medium heat for 1 hour.