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!