Beef, Pepper and Noodle Soup

I recently received a wonderful package of goodies from the folks at Massel that included their all-natural, all-vegetable, gluten-free bouillons and their new Concentrated Liquid Stock. With brutal weather here in Chicagoland that has been hovering just below or above 0 for several days, wind gusts of 30+ miles an hour and wind chill factor temps of around -30 to -40 degrees, I'm happy that the kids are home from school and we are all staying warm. It's the perfect time for soup.

I tried out some of the Massel Salt Reduced Beef Style UltraCube Stock Cubes for this recipe. I had to go back and look closer at the package because I didn't believe it was really all-vegetable, but it is. According to the label, it is "Gluten-free, all-vegetable, lactose free, no trans fats, cholesterol free, no added msg, no animal content." This is one of the tastiest pots of soup I have ever made. This was a variation of my Stuffed Green Pepper Soup that I make often, especially in the late summer when we have an abundance of green peppers from the garden. However, the last couple of times I made it, I didn't have rice on hand, which is what I usually put in it, so I substituted with some pasta and it was fantastic! So fantastic that I greatly prefer it over the version with rice. This latest pot, which included the Massel boulion cubes, was a huge hit with the kids. I expected to pack up some leftovers, but they at the whole pot! And a couple of them usually aren't even soup eaters. Oh, and I'm all for the shop local, buy local way of thinking, but I love that this is a product from Australia because I adore Australia - mostly because my darling niece lives there with her family. She has two young kids now and it is so seriously adorable to hear my little 3-year-old great niece talk with that Aussie accent. 

Ingredients:

6 cups water
4 Massel beef ultracube bouillon cubes
Oregano
Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
Garlic Salt
1 pound browned ground beef (I added a little Oregano and garlic salt and seasoned salt when I was browning it.)
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cans seasoned, diced tomatoes
About 1 cup of noodles

Put water and bouillon in soup pot and bring to a boil. Add seasonings and diced green pepper. Continue at rapid boil for about 15 minutes or until peppers soften. Add meat and tomatoes and slow to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Return to a boil, add noodles. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until noodles are done.

Add a little Parmesan cheese on top, if desired, and served with a breadstick or slice of crusty bread. :)

***Disclosure: I did receive product samples. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.