Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe comes from Our Best Bites, and they adapted it from America's Test Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 4 very large or 6 medium sweet peppers (red, yellow, or orange)
• 1 Tbs salt
• 1/2 C white rice (or brown if you want to take the time to cook it), quinoa also works
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 – 1 jalapeno, minced (or you could sub a small 3oz can of mild green chilies)
• 1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2-1 tsp chipotle chili powder (you can start with 1/2 and add more to taste)
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
• 1 1/4 C jack or pepperjack cheese, divided
• 3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• tortilla chips, just a handful and more for serving if desired.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare peppers by washing, slicing tops off, and removing insides. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Boil whole peppers for about 3-4 minutes, until they begin to soften. Remove from water with tongs and place on paper towels to drain.

Add rice to boiling water and cook until tender, about 13 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno (or chilies) and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, green onions, chipotle chili powder, kosher salt, and pepper. Stir until corn and beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Place peppers in a baking dish. Remove skillet from heat and add rice, tomatoes, 1 cup cheese, and cilantro. Stir to combine well and give it a taste. Add additional salt, pepper, and chipotle powder to your liking. Then evenly divide mixture between peppers.

Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup cheese (or more if you can fit it on there :) and crushed tortilla chips.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used quinoa instead of rice. To cook it I used the water that the bell peppers were boiled in, but I measured it out (I only needed 1 cup for 1/2 c. of quinoa) to make sure I didn't have to drain my quinoa, like the directions say to do.
2. I used 3 oz. of canned mild green chilis, instead of jalapeno pepper and I only used 1/2 tsp of the chipotle chili powder. This combo still had kick but not so bad that you can't eat it. If you aren't one for spice you may want to nix the mild green chilis or do less than 1/2 tsp of chili powder.
   
3. I used kidney beans instead of black beans and it was super yummy. I'm sure black beans are great too.
4. Don't start preheating your oven until you start making the filling (sauteing onions, etc).
   
5. We didn't use the tortilla chips and it was still superb.
6. I only used 4 peppers, and then just saved the extra filling for leftovers (tastes awesome as a burrito filling!). If buying that many peppers is too expensive for you, you could just chop one up and add it to the filling. Serve it up some kind of bread and fruit sides. Saves money and time!
   

This recipe was a huge hit! Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed eating it for dinner.