Spicy Stuffed Pepper Soup

My husband and I enjoy stuffed green peppers - the only drawback is that we have been on a spicy kick since Madi was born. So over the last couple of months we have worked at tweaking a recipe for stuffed pepper soup. Well this last batch of soup we made upped the spice factor compared to previous attempts, and I think that we finally have a good recipe. Unfortunately, the picture isn't the best as I had to reheat my bowl after feeding and wrangling Madi. The good news, it still heats up well. :0)

Recipe

* 2 lbs ground beef
* 1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce
* 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
* 2 cups cooked long grain rice (about 1 cup uncooked = 2 cups when cooked)
* 2 cloves garlic
* 2 cups water
* 2 green peppers, chopped
* 1 1/2 habanero pepper, chopped
* 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 beef bouillon cubes
* 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* Mozzarella cheese, optional


Brown the ground beef and onion, then drain off the fat. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. (We brown the meat in the same pot that we will cook the soup in to save on cleanup.) Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Spoon into bowls and garnish with mozzarella cheese. My hubby and I enjoy ours with some bread - it is great for dipping in the soup.