Place onion, mushroom, jalapeno, black beans, corn, tomatoes, spices and broth in crock pot. Lightly salt chicken and place on top of vegetables and beans. Set heat on low and cook for 8 hours. Remove chicken, shred and then stir back into chili. Cook an hour longer if vegetables need more time.
Before eating, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place horizontally cut peppers in lightly greased baking dish. Bake until cooked but still retaining their shape, approx. 40 min.
If using chicken, remove it after 8 hours and shred with a fork before returning it to the chili. Lift chili from crock pot with slotted spoon and either fill baked peppers, tortillas, or top a bowl of rice. Serve stuffed peppers with a knife and fork to cut bites with pepper and chili together.
SERVING OPTIONS: Top with favorite Mexican food toppings like cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, diced green onion, etc. Accompany entree with sliced fresh melon in season.
MORE SPICE: Add 1 tsp. garlic, fresh diced cilantro and/or 1-2 Tsp. cumin
STOVE TOP COOKING: Heat 2 Tbsp. cooking oil in skillet and saute lightly salted chicken split breasts 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside. Saute onion in skillet with more cooking oil if needed until softened, approx. 4 min. Add mushroom and jalapeno pepper and cook until mushrooms soften. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes and spices. (Do not use the broth unless more liquid is needed later.) Place chicken on top of chili, put lid on skillet and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through; approx. 15-20 min.. Check periodically to see if more liquid is needed. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Mix into chili or place in bowl to be served separately.
(adapted from blog.fatfreevegan.com "Chili Stuffed Peppers")