Sloppy Josés and Homemade Tortillas

I came up with this recipe one night when I decided we would have sloppy joes for dinner, but substitute in rice for hamburger. After I made the filling, I realized it would be even better with tortillas. Sam and I like thinking of weird names for my inventions (like "Party in a Pan," or "The Brady Twist"), but I was just calling these Mexican Sloppy Joes. The next day Sam informed me that he had thought of the perfect name...and so we have Sloppy Josés! They taste best with homemade tortillas, but if you are crunched on time you can get some from a tortillaria (Kroger and some Walmarts have them, so Smith's probably does too). Don't settle for thin, dry flaky ones from a package, though! They won't do this dish justice.

Sloppy Josés Filling

2 1/2 c. brown rice, measured dry

1 1/4 c. ketchup (adjust according to your tastes)

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 medium onion

1 Tbsp. mustard

1-2 Tbsp. lime juice

Sour cream+additional limes, if desired, for serving

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine remaining ingredients in a large frying pan and cook until onions begin to get tender. Stir in rice and heat through.

Homemade Tortillas

Now for a quick note on these--most flour tortilla recipes I have tried tend to be very tough and excessively floury in taste. This recipe is different! Because there is a fair amount of butter in it, the dough stays quite tender (and is consequently easier to roll out) and they taste much better. (Recipe adapted from cooking class at BYU.)

4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. salt

1 c. warm water

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix milk and water, and heat to just below boiling. Remove from heat and stir in butter, letting it sit in liquid until completely melted. Add milk/water/butter mixture to flour mixture and knead to a soft dough. Break into 16 balls and let rest 10-20 minutes. Roll out tortillas and cook over medium heat, flipping occasionally with a pancake turner until both sides start to have light brown spots on them. Tortillas may still appear doughy, which is okay. If they are cooked until dark brown spots appear and the tortillas have no doughy spots, they will not be very tender and will likely break when you try to roll them up. Eat warm rolled around sloppy josé filling and topped with sour cream and lime juice, if desired! (Although I highly recommend the sour cream...it adds just the right touch.) Enjoy!

Yice for Dinduh

This special recipe comes straight from the kitchen of Peter May.

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1. Grunt and groan as you pull the rice cooker out of the corner cupboard - if you have to pull a few other things out in the process, that's okay.

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2. Go over to the pantry and stand up on your very tippy toes, reaching as high as you can. If you still can't reach the rice, say "Yice, yice..." repeatedly until Mommy gets it down for you. If you're in a really good mood, you can add a "hep pweess," and that should get it a little sooner.

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3. Carry the bucket of rice over to the rice cooker.

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4. Open the rice cooker and carefully place the whole bucket of rice inside.

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5. Close the cooker.

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6. Open the cooker and bang the rice bucket around with the rice paddle a few times, then close the cooker.

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7. Repeat step #6 until you get bored or Mommy says it's time for dinner.

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8. Make a pose and say "cheeeess" when Mommy wants to take a picture of your amazing Yice for Dinduh.

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Brazilian Lemonade

I got this recipe here, and it quickly became a favorite of ours! I never really thought sweetened condensed milk and citrus fruit would be a good pair, but it turns out they're fabulous together! It's perfect for those times you need a light, refreshing treat.

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)

1 c. sugar

6 c. cold water

6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time. Wash limes thoroughly with soap. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths. Place half of the limes and half of the sugar water in the blender, put the lid on, and pulse 5 -7 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Discard pulp and peel remnants in strainer. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk. Taste test and add more sugar and/or sweetened condensed milk if needed. It tastes best if served over ice!

Note: the original recipe says it doesn't keep well, but I usually double the recipe and it still tastes great the following day or two.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

I made these for dessert yesterday and they were a hit! I adjusted this recipe a bit to come up with them. They're quite rich, so I suggest cutting them kind of small.

8 oz. brick cream cheese

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

Brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines)

Additional ingredients needed to prepare brownies according to directions on box

12 oz. pkg. milk chocolate chips

Whip cream cheese until smooth. Beat in peanut butter, sugar, egg, and milk and set aside. Prepare brownie batter as directed on box. Add chocolate chips. Spread into greased 9x13 pan, reserving a few tablespoons to swirl on top. Spread peanut butter/cream cheese mixture on top of brownie batter. Make 5 thin horizontal lines with remaining brownie batter. Insert butter knife into batter in one corner of the pan and drag it through the batter vertically, alternating directions with each column made with the knife, until the batter is sufficiently swirled together across the pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Let cool before eating.

**These brownies taste best if allowed to sit for at least 12 hours after baking to allow everything to set up and the flavors to come together.