Southwestern Stuffed Green Peppers

Our garden has produced LOTS of green peppers this year.  I have many quart bags of diced peppers in my freezer.  This was our picking last week.  So I tried a new recipe for Southwestern Stuffed Green Peppers.  They were really good. The stuffing was good, but the topping really made them delicious.  My homegrown peppers were smaller, so I used more than the four called for in the recipe.  I just filled up the pan- and still had stuffing leftover.  I froze the leftover stuffing to use in burritos later.

Southwestern Stuffed Green Peppers

4 large Green Peppers, cut in half the long way, seeded

1 cup dry rice, cooked  (about 2 cups cooked)
olive oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin and divided whites and greens
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can, drained
1/2 can black beans, drained
1 small can diced green chilis
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
cayenne pepper (pinch to more, according to taste) or Tabasco sauce
1 cup Jack or Mexican cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Topping:
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
Juice from a Lime ( about 3 T.)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Heat the oven to 350.  Cook the rice.   In a large skillet, drizzle in some olive oil.  Cook the onion whites with the hamburger.  Add the seasonings, and cook a minute more.  Stir in the rice, corn, beans, green chilis, salsa, and 1/2 of the cheese.  Mix well.

Get out a 13 x9 pan or similar baking dish.  Put about a cup of water in the bottom.  Fill each green pepper half with the stuffing mixture and place in the pan.   Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and top with the other 1/2 of the grated cheese.  Put back in the oven until cheese is bubbly and melted and the peppers are el dente.
Whisk together the topping ingredients.  When you take the peppers out of the oven, put some of the topping on each pepper, then garnish with the greens of the green onions.  Serve with salsa, if desired.