Unstuffed Pepper Soup Supreme

This soup started out as a regular Unstuffed Pepper Soup since I had a lot of peppers to use up and I had been in the mood to make this for a long time. However, as I have written in the past, I tend to start adding some of this and some of that until the soup morphs into something else. This leads to moving the soup from one pot to another larger pot- sometimes a couple of different times before it is finished. That is how this soup became what it is- I really didn't even know what to call it because it is not really an Unstuffed Pepper Soup anymore. However, since it still has the "bones" of a pepper soup, I left the name. My children told me after the initial supper that they enjoyed it, which is remarkable given the variety of vegetables in it and the fact they are not fans of peppers usually. This time around, I used sausage, as well as a large patty pan squash that was begging to be used up, some yellow summer squash, mushrooms and cabbage. This made a huge pot of soup and would probably feed about 10 people. I have listed the ingredients along with the approximate amounts. The average size family or couple might want to cut this in half, at least.

Ingredients:

1/2- 1 pound ground beef or sausage
1-2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
5-6 large green peppers, chopped
1/4- 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 large carton of beef broth (approximately 32 oz.)
1 carton of chicken broth (32 oz.)- you may need to add more if you  need more liquid as the rice cooks
28 oz. tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce (I prefer spaghetti sauce)
1  15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cups cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
1 larger patty pan squash, seeds removed & chopped
1 cup rice- white or brown
1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp Italian herb blend
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt- adjust to taste depending on how salty broth is


In a LARGE soup pot, sauté meat with onions until meat is browned. Drain off fat, if needed. Add in the garlic and cook for another couple minutes. Add in remainder of ingredients and cook for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked. Serve with a hearty bread.