Bell Pepper Soup!

  I am currently in the middle of my homework and classwork online, but I thought I would take a little break to talk about the awesome soup I made last night. I was surprised how well it turned out. First of all, I found the recipe in one of those 30 second cooking videos you see pop up on your facebook newsfeed. I altered it a little to fit our tastes. Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 white onion, finely diced
2 bell peppers (any color) finely diced
1. TBSP garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
32 oz beef broth (my husband made beef bone broth from beef soup bones and it was absolutely perfect for this soup. I highly recommend home made broth. It's really easy to make, especially if you have a crock pot.)
6 oz tomato paste
30 oz diced tomatoes (I did one can of regular diced tomatoes, and one can of diced tomatoes in italian seasonings. By accident, but turned out SO GOOD)

Start by adding about a capful of olive oil to the bottom of a small/ medium size stock pot. Turn the stove on and add the ground beef. Use a spoon or spatula to break up the beef and brown it fairly well. Don't worry if it seems liquidy, it will add to the nutrients and taste of the soup. Then when the meat is browned, add your diced onion and bell peppers. Also add the dry spices with them.  Let the meat, spices and vegetables simmer together on high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Then add beef broth. *Note: if you are using home made, chances are you have a good layer of fat if you put it in the fridge to store. Or maybe in the freezer to store. Either way put all your broth in now and if it's home made, let the fat melt completely then add the tomatoes. If frozen, let it melt halfway into the soup, then add the tomatoes.
If using regular boxed or canned broth, add the tomato products in right now and let the mixture simmer on high for about 5-7 minutes. Then put the stove somewhere in between low and medium heat and let the soup simmer for 10-12 minutes.
There you go, yummy warm soup :)

If you would like the recipe for the bone broth my husband made, I will ask him for it and post again soon. It is very easy and we got 4 quart size mason jars full and 4 sandwich bags full of delicious and healthy broth. My husband made it for me to strengthen my body in the last couple months of my pregnancy. It's supposed to strengthen the blood and uterus. I definitely love the taste and it helps me stay away from morning sickness and exhaustion. It's so tasty and much cheaper than buying salty, preservative-filled broth from the grocery store. It was about a week process to get that much out of the soup bones. But it was made in one of our crock pots and required little maintenance throughout the week. My husband kept emptying the crock pot and adding more water until the bones basically disintegrated.