Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 11×17-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Boil two cups of water in a medium-sized pan. Add rice and a 1/2 teaspoon salt. Follow the cooking directions that come with your rice. When cooked through, remove from heat and cover for about five minutes to soak up any remaining water.

Clean up the peppers and remove any product labels. Remove the core and seeds and slice the peppers in half lengthwise. I like using a variety of coloured peppers rather than green ones. The green peppers taste bitter because they aren’t ripe. They also don’t have as many vitamins in them as their more colourful siblings.

Place the cooked rice in a medium or large mixing bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except the bell peppers. If possible, replace the dried cilantro with fresh. Fresh ingredients are always best. Mix thoroughly and then press into the prepared bell pepper halves and put them in the parchment-lined baking dish.

Cover the pan with tin foil. Baking time can be tricky for peppers. For very thick peppers, like those you usually find in the supermarket, cook for 30 minutes and then add 10-minute increments until tender. Once the desired tenderness is reached, uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and cook for another five minutes to melt the cheese.