Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
1/2 cup jasmine rice
Kosher salt
7 medium to large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 (15 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8 oz.) bag of shredded Mexican cheese
2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
Fine-cut shredded Mexican blend cheese for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Combine rice, 1 ¼ cups water, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low, cover the saucepan, and simmer until rice is tender and water is absorbed about 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let it cool until ready to use.
Meanwhile, remove the top ¼-inch from the bell peppers, discard the stem, and dice the pepper tops (about 1 ½ cups diced bell pepper). Remove and discard the core from the remaining pepper, leaving the peppers intact.
Heat a large, oven-safe, high-sided (11") skillet over medium-high. Add oil, onion, and diced bell pepper tops and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, and cumin and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
Add cooked rice, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the onion mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring, then remove the skillet from the heat. Stir 1 cup of the thick-cut shredded Mexican cheese and the cilantro into the rice mixture.
Arrange peppers cut side up on a work surface and spoon the rice mixture into each pepper. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels, then arrange stuffed peppers cut side up in a skillet. Cover skillet tightly with foil.
Bake until peppers are tender, about 50 minutes. Cover and top each pepper with the thick-cut shredded Mexican cheese cup. Bake until cheese is bubbly, about 10 minutes more. Garnish with cilantro and fine-cut shredded Mexican blend cheese before serving.
