In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook and stir the ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, brown sugar, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the peppers are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the rice, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5-10 more minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
To thicken the soup, simmer the pot uncovered. You can also stir in additional rice. Add as much rice as necessary to reach the desired consistency.
Use bulk Italian sausage instead of ground beef in this recipe, or try a combination of half sausage and half beef. You can also make the soup using ground turkey.
Any variety of cooked rice will work in the soup. I prefer long-grain white rice, but brown rice or basmati rice are both good options, too.
If you have access to fresh herbs, substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh minced basil and 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano for the dried herbs. Fresh parsley is also a nice addition, and serves as a pretty garnish, too!
Use red bell peppers or other sweet bell peppers instead of the green bell peppers.
Spicy Stuffed Pepper Soup: add crushed red pepper flakes for a spicy kick!