African Peanut Soup

African Peanut Soup (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free)
This is a very creative soup that received many 5 star reviews on the allrecipes.com board.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 2 large red bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 green, 1 red, and 1 yellow)
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
* 8 cups vegetable broth or stock (I used chicken broth)
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
* 2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
* 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. (For my giant pot I had to simmer on medium)
Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

**When I made this the first time, it took more like 45 minutes to cook the rice. Next time, I'll cook the rice separately and then add it to taste. Jord said this would be great just drizzled over the rice instead.