Food Porn No More: Stuffed Pepper Soup

I have just discovered Pinterest. I know. I am late to the Pinterest party. Its Food section is a great resource for some healthy recipe ideas, but mostly it's a lot of what I and Anthony Bourdain like to call "food porn." Food porn (or at least my understanding of it) is defined as watching others prepare food (usually very rich, fatty, luxurious) while you drool and never really attempt any actual cooking yourself. I recently saw a recipe on Pinterest for Stuffed Pepper Soup (imagine the flavors of stuffed peppers in soup form). It sounded delicious, but I had to make some big changes to it in order to make it healthy. So, I turned this beefy recipe into a tasty, filling, and even vegan soup. Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomato
• 1/2 bottle of your favorite Mexican beer
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, add oil to pot and saute peppers and onions until softened (5 to 8 minutes). Add garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and stir until paste is combined with vegetables. Pour in beer to deglaze pan, stir for a minute or so. Add broth, canned tomatoes, and spices, and lower heat to simmer soup with lid on for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.