Insubordinate Housewife: Stuffed Pepper Soup

We finally had some much-needed cold weather here in SW Ohio last week. Perfect for a night in with a bowl of homemade soup. I was originally inspired to create this recipe a few months ago when I purchased a to-go soup cup from our local grocery store, Dorothy Lane Market. Normally their food is excellent, but their Stuffed Pepper Soup missed the mark. It majorly lacked in flavor, the consistency was pathetic, and it was much too watery. The broth was the worst part. It was basically a red, pepper-flavored water that lacked spice and any flavor depth.

Even though I didn't like Dorothy Lane's Stuffed Pepper Soup, I liked the concept. I scoured the web for a better version only to find that everyone else was making a Stuffed Pepper Soup in similar lackluster fashion - full of ground beef, water, and simple green peppers. Looked like I was on my own. Thankfully soup making is not something I shy away from. What I came up with is leagues better. It was utterly delicious! And like every soup, it's even better the next day. I ate two huge bowls of leftovers!

{Click Here for the Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
2 lbs Italian Sausage (either all ground or ground & links)
2 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, diced
3 Medium Cloves Garlic, minced
4 Peppers (I did 2 orange, 1 yellow, 1 red), diced medium
2 32-oz Containers Chicken Stock
1 28-oz Can Diced Tomatoes
1 28-oz Can Tomato Puree
1/2 Cup White Rice
2 tsp Dried Thyme, heaping
1 Tblsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Basil, heaping
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Gather your ingredients.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions until they start to become transparent, approx. 5 mins. Then add the ground sausage.

If using links of sausage, add in after the ground sausage has cooked for a few minutes. Simply because you need to break up the sausage in the pot. I used a combination of mild Italian & hot Italian sausage. Next time I plan to use all ground because I didn't like dealing with the casing; but plan to keep various sizes of chunks of ground sausage in it.

Once the sausage is just browned, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the diced peppers, plus a little fresh ground pepper for good measure. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes or however long it takes you to open the tomato cans and get situated.

Add the thyme, oregano, basil, diced tomatoes and tomato puree, plus a tsp of salt. Stir.

Then add the chicken stock. It may seem like a lot, but it will take it. The rice is going to absorb a lot of liquid. If you want, start with 1&1/2 containers and add the rest after you've cooked the rice.