Chorizo Stuffed Sweet Peppers

I saw these vibrantly colored peppers at the store and it seemed like they were just asking to be stuffed with something!

Ingredients:

25-30 sweet peppers (at my local grocer, these are just called sweet peppers and usually come in a package with a few dozen of various color.  They are not hot, just sweet and tasty!)

1 package chorizo

1 can black beans

2 cups cheddar or monterey jack cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tsp olive oil

Directons:

Cover an aluminum baking sheet in foil.  Rinse peppers, then dry, and place on baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until the peppers become soft and slightly charred.

Meanwhile, cook chorizo in a sauce pan until firm and slightly browned.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Once peppers are done cooking, remove from oven and let cool.  Reserve baking sheet.  When the peppers have cooled, carefully slice them once straight down the middle, leaving the pepper intact and enough space for stuffing.  There is no need to remove the interior seeds, as there are very few of them in this size pepper, and they are not spicy.

Drain and rinse the beans and mix in a bowl with the chorizo.  Stuff each pepper with about 1 tablespoon of the mixture (or enough to nearly fill each pepper, leaving a bit of room for cheese).  Fill remaining space with cheese and squeeze peppers to slightly close them back up.  Place back on baking sheet, cheese side up, and cook in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Remove from pan and serve!

Tips:  You may have to add additional salt after the second baking; taste to verify before serving.  Also, the reason for cooking these before stuffing them is that otherwise, the cheese will get too hot and slide right out.  Another variation is that you can cut the peppers in half and stuff them open faced, such as below.  Enjoy!