Black Bean & Corn Stuffed Peppers

Brian and I made these adding cooked ground beef to the mix instead of the walnuts and they were really good. The black beans and corn add interest to the traditional filling. We did add some tomato sauce as we do in our regular Stuffed Peppers recipe. We tried them without the tomato sauce and then remade them using it. They were better. I added this to the recipe. Using the walnuts instead of beef give you a vegetarian meal worth trying, and the black beans paired with corn give you a complete protein.

I made these using the walnuts instead of ground beef, and some bulgur I had that was already cooked instead of rice. I used tomato paste diluted with water instead of canned tomato sauce, and half a jalapeño pepper instead of canned chilies. And I mixed in some cut-up American cheese slices that I wanted to use up to help cut the heat from the jalapeño. I roasted the peppers over the gas burner flame to give them more flavor. Otherwise, I followed the recipe as written using Cheddar cheese to top them the last few minutes of baking - this was the best part. Next time I willl add it to the filling mix, or stick logs of feta cheese in them like Brian used to do. They were good, but I think they are better with the ground beef rather than the walnuts.

6 large green peppers
1-1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (1.5 cups)
1 (11-ounce) can Mexican-style corn, drained (1.5 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts (or substitute 1/2 pound ground beef, cooked)
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies (or use fresh)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (enough to moisten the filling)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (Pepper Jack cheese would add a little more heat)
Jalapeno pepper slices for garnish (optional)

Cut a thin slice from stem end of each pepper; remove seeds and membranes; rinse. Blanche the peppers 3 minutes in enough boiling water to cover; drain. Alternatively, roast the peppers (see note below). Season inside of peppers with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper; set aside.

Combine rice, beans, corn, onion, walnuts, chilies, cumin and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spoon 1 cup rice mixture into each pepper; stand upright in 13x9-inch baking pan. Cover pan with foil; bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle peppers with cheese. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with jalapeno pepper slices.

Note: To roast the peppers: Wash the peppers but leave them whole. Place them on a very hot grill or on an oven burner, or under the broiler, and grill until charred on all sides. Place the hot peppers in a closed plastic or paper bag, or under a towel. Let them "sweat" until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin; it will come off very easily with your fingers. Cut the top off of the pepper to remove the stem; remove the core and seed.