Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

I love clipping recipes out of magazines and then putting my own spin on them.  Southwestern Stuffed Peppers from Real Simple sounded like they would be a hit in the little twin house and turned out to be a great weeknight meal. 

I made these with ground chicken because I do not eat beef.  When I was little, I always felt sick after eating red meat, so I stopped eating it.  Now that I have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, we have realized that I probably felt sick when I was little due to whatever wheat product was served with the red meat!  So, although I could eat red meat again, I just do not care for the taste of it anymore because I associate it with a stomachache. 

The original recipe calls for 4 bell peppers, but Wegmans had a great deal on a 3 pack, so I just made 6 halves that were generously filled.  Here is my adaptation of this great recipe!

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

1 cup short grain brown rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

1/2 pound ground chicken

1 cup frozen corn

 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 oz. grated Pepper Jack cheese

salt & pepper

3 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed

hot sauce, for serving (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites and chicken and cook, breaking the chicken up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the corn, chilies, cumin, cooked rice, ½ cup of the Pepper Jack, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
3. Arrange the bell peppers, cut-side up, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or pan. Divide the chicken mixture among the bell peppers, add ½ cup water to the dish, tightly cover the dish with foil, and bake until the bell peppers are soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of Pepper Jack, and bake until browned, 5 to 7 minutes more.
4. Top with the hot sauce (if you are like GFF's hubby) and scallion greens.