Cheesy Stuffed Mexican Peppers with Red Chili Sauce

Ingredients

• For the sauce:
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup beer, such as pale ale or lager
• 1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the peppers:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 jalapeños, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 ounces American cheese, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 4 large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, tops sliced off, seeds and white membranes scooped out, and bottoms trimmed so peppers will stand upright like cups

Directions

1. For the sauce, warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook until they begin to relax and soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the oregano, chili powder, cocoa powder, cumin, and beer. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, then season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce keep simmering until it thickens a bit, about 15 minutes. Take it off to the side.
2. For the peppers, while the sauce is cooking, move an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the beef and cook it through, using your spoon to break it into small pieces as it browns. Stir in the onion and jalapeños, and cook until the vegetables have softened slightly, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the cumin, chili powder, rice, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, sour cream, and both cheeses. Season with salt and pepper, then bring the filling to a simmer. Cook until the cheese has melted and the mixture looks creamy, about 5 minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat.
3. Set the peppers upright in an 8- by 8-inch baking dish, cup-side up.
4. Spoon the filling generously into the peppers, mounding it as needed, then ladle the sauce over the top. Cover the dish with foil and bake, spooning sauce over the peppers every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender, about 1 hour. Take off the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Rest the peppers for 10 minutes before serving.