Choose peppers that can sit upright in the dish, and cut simple face openings without removing so much wall that the filling falls out. Clear the seeds and white ribs before the empty-pepper bake. That first stage begins softening the shell while the onion and prepared filling heat in the skillet.
The rice starts cooked and the beans start drained and rinsed. Divide their hot mixture among all four peppers, add the cheese and put the measured water in the baking dish rather than inside the filling. Follow both covered and uncovered stages, then check pepper tenderness. Keep the rest before serving so the filled peppers are easier to move onto plates.
Timing and servings are estimates. Equipment, ingredients and portion sizes affect the result.
