Mama made dinner tonight!

No MRE's here! Tonight I made a recipe from my cookbook 'Southern Living Busy Moms Weeknight Favorites'. I love the recipes in there because they are so easy to make. This was no exception. I did alter it a bit though.

Italian-Style Beef-and-Pepperoni Soup

1 lb. ground beef

3 oz. sliced pepperoni

Veg. cooking spray

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 tsp. bottled minced garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (32 oz) container chicken broth

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. dried basil or 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. dried oregano or 1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp. ground pepper

Garnishes: grated Parmesan cheese, sliced fresh basil

1. Cook beef & pepperoni in Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles & is no longer pink. Drain & pat dry with paper towels. Wipe Dutch oven clean.

2. Saute' mushrooms & next 3 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven 5 minutes.

3. Stir in beef mixture, crushed tomatoes & next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer 30 minutes. Garnish, if desired.

****I pretty much skipped the second step. I did add some garlic salt to the beef/pepperoni mixture. I didn't add much basil and no oregano because one of the cans of tomatoes I used was 'Italian' style. I added mozzarella cheese to each bowl & cooked up some breadsticks. A salad would also go well with it. It was so good & easy & I'll definitely make it again!