Chocolate Chips by the Handful: Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

So today I was looking through the fridge to determine what I still had to use up from "thanksgiving". Two red peppers were on the list of those items. So I went looking for a recipe to use them up. I found this one and love it because the peppers I had were fairly small. I decided to "boat" the peppers rather than "cup" them because I figured it would be easier to save leftovers if there was 4 portions instead of just 2 big portions. In the recipe there is some commentary about "saying no to drugs and green peppers" I completely agree; I greatly dislike green peppers. I think green peppers are the reason I haven't made stuffed peppers before, I thought you HAD to use green peppers. I also added in some chopped celery that I needed to use up.

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers
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4 very large or 6 medium sweet peppers (red, yellow, or orange) - I used 2 small red peppers.
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- I used 1 TBS butter, butter is better
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno, minced (or you could sub a small 3oz can of mild green chilies) - I didn't have this and wasn't going to buy it so I just added extra chili and cayenne powder for the heat.
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2-1 tsp chipotle chili powder (you can start with 1/2 and add more to taste) - Along with Cayenne, my favorite.
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste - I just use regular salt
1/4 black pepper, plus more to taste
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted - Although fire roasted might be good, I didn't have it so I ended up using petite diced tomatoes with sweet onions.
1 1/4 C jack or pepperjack cheese, divided
3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro- I used dried and greatly reduced the amount.
tortilla chips, just a handful and more for serving if desired. I used Doritos for fun.

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 - I only boiled for about 2 minutes because I didn't want them to be squishy, 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. I'm not sure how long mine baked because I forgot to set a timer, but I'm guessing probably 20ish minutes.