I love stuffed peppers, but my husband, he’s not exactly a fan. I made them once for him to try, and when I asked why he barely ate any of what was on his plate, he said, “they are too peppery!” It made me laugh, but it also made me a little sad, thinking that we probably wouldn’t have stuffed peppers ever again. Shortly after, we ate at a local restaurant that served a version of stuffed pepper soup on their buffet. I loved how it tasted like stuffed peppers but without the overpowering flavour of peppers. I had him try it, and he enjoyed it too. It struck me then that this is how we could enjoy “stuffed peppers” at home!
For this recipe, you’ll need two one-gallon freezer bags and two small regular sandwich bags. Label one of the gallon freezer bags with “Stuffed Pepper Soup”, the date, and the cooking instructions listed below. Place a pound and half of lean (90% or higher) ground beef in the other gallon freezer bag. If you don’t have lean ground beef, brown your ground beef in a skillet, drain the fat and allow it to cool before placing it into the freezer bag.
Yummy Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup Freezer Meal
Ingredients
1 ½ pound ground beef (minced beef) - lean
3 cups green pepper (green capsicum) - diced
1 medium yellow onion - diced
2 teaspoons garlic - minced
1 cup ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK)
14 ½ ounces tomato - diced with liquid
5 cups water
4 cubes beef stock (beef broth or beef bouillon)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoon paprika
2 cups white rice - instant
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Label one-gallon freezer bag “Stuffed Pepper Soup”, the date and the cooking instructions below.
- Add ground beef, peppers, onions, a can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, minced garlic, bouillon, and water to a second-gallon freezer bag. Seal the bag.
- Add the black pepper, salt, paprika, basil, and brown sugar to a small sandwich bag. Seal the bag.
- Place the shredded cheese in a second sandwich bag. Seal.
- Place all three bags inside the gallon freezer bag you labelled in the beginning, seal the bag and place it in the freezer.
- Allow the bag’s contents to thaw overnight in the refrigerator the night before cooking.
- In the morning, pour the contents of the freezer bag with the ground beef into the slow cooker.
- Allow the soup to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.
- Ten minutes before serving, break up any clumps of ground beef and stir herbs, spices and brown sugar from the one sandwich bag, add the rice and place the lid back on the slow cooker.
- Once the rice is tender, stir the soup and serve with a light covering of cheese.
