Stuffed Pepper Soup + DIY Italian Seasoning

Keeping with the trend that I've been following, you guessed it... another soup recipe.  This one, though, has a dedication. My mother hosts Sunday Dinner every week, which ultimately includes primarily my grandparents. My sister heads over most of the time, and because I live in another state, I unfortunately don't make it nearly often enough. Regardless of who is there, though, my amazing mother makes dinner. And in addition to Sunday Dinner, she also makes something for my grandparents to take home with them, usually a casserole of some sort. One of their favorites is Inside Out Stuffed Pepper Casserole, which I posted about earlier this year, and we thoroughly enjoyed in this house. So when I came across this recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup, I thought to myself "Self, I bet this would be a great one to share with the royal family!" So let's have at it. I haven't made it yet, so leave me love if you have anything to add!! 

The original recipe is from www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com 

ingredients

2 lb. lean ground beef
3 large peppers {at least 1 green}, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 carton (32 oz.) beef broth
2 cans (10¾ oz. each) condensed tomato soup
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Italian seasoning {bonus recipe below!}
½ tsp. black pepper
1½ cups cooked white rice

instructions

1. In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the peppers, onion and mushrooms. Cook until the beef is no longer pink and drain off any grease if necessary. 
2. Stir in the broth, tomato soup, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to maintain a simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Add Italian seasoning, black pepper and rice. Heat through and serve.

notes

• Make it skinny... sub lean ground turkey for your beef and use brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice and make sure your broth, tomato soup, and tomatoes are all low sodium if possible.

Bonus Recipe: DIY Italian Seasoning

Combine 2 Tablespoons each of: basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Store in airtight container, or do what I do and put homemade seasoning combos into old spice containers {Just make sure it's cleaned and dried thoroughly or that it's a spice that is contained in your mixture as to not affect the taste}