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Bell Pepper Soup

This is soup weather.

My husband and I LOVE soup.  Our kids USUALLY love soup.  This is a great time of year for a nice, hot bowl of soup with a sandwich or salad, or just on its own.  Sometimes, you need to break out of the box and try a new one - this was simple, pretty healthy, and can be made vegetarian if you leave out the meatballs (you can find that recipe under Poultry).

Bell Pepper Soup

1 tbsp. evoo
3-6 bell peppers (green, yellow, red, orange, yellow - you pick), diced
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped, or 2 tsp. dried
2 tsp. dried oregano
64 oz. can tomato juice
4 c. water (I use 2 c. vegetable or chicken broth, and 2 c. water)
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
small pasta shells or rice (include with a freezer meal)
1 recipe turkey meatballs (make them small)

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 2 min. Add peppers, and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, basil, parsley & oregano. Stir in tomato juice and water, bring to a boil, stir. Cook pasta to al dente, and stir in before serving (skip this if you're freezing).  To freeze: let cool completely, freeze.

To prepare: thaw soup in refrigerator, reheat. Add meatballs while reheating, and stir in al dente pasta just before serving. Could also use rice. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if you have it, and maybe little shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

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