Chorizo, Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers

I created this recipe as a way to clean out the refrigerator of a number of items I bought on sale that needed to be used up.  My daughter took one bite and declared it her new favorite meal.  My husband ate more than I would have thought humanly possible and what he didn't finish that night, he ate the next day for lunch.  It was really tasty!

Ingredients:

5 red peppers, 1 seeded and diced

1 lb lean ground beef

2 links or 8 oz of chorizo, casing removed and diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 jalapeño, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups chicken stock

4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated

4 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Olive oil

Homemade guacamole and sour cream

Preheat oven to 425.  Roast red peppers whole on a baking sheet for 15 minutes until just beginning to blacken. Meanwhile, heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat and begin to cook ground beef.  When the meat is mostly cooked through, add the chorizo and stir until the beef is fully cooked and the chorizo has begun to brown.  Next add the onion, jalapeño and reserved diced red pepper and sauté, stirring for about 5 minutes until the vegetables just start to soften.  Add the garlic and stir for 2 more minutes.  Add in the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin and stir for 1 minute.  Add in the rice and stir for another 2 minutes to coat everything.  Add in the chicken stock and cover the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.  Remove the mixture to a bowl.

Once the peppers are cooked, remove them to cool (the mixture will still be in progress so you should have a few minutes for these to cool).  Either split the peppers in half and remove the stem and seeds or leave the pepper whole and cut out the stem and scoop out the seeds.  I prefer to split them in half because I like to let more of the mixture brown and get crunchy.  Stir half of the cheese in to the rice mixture.  Stuff the peppers, top with cheese and bake on the same sheet you cooked the peppers on for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the top is nicely browned.  Serve with sour cream and guacamole.