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.

Spiced Peaches and Chicken

This is definitely one of my very favorite dishes, both to make and to eat. One of my roommates at BYU gave me the recipe (Cara Powers, now Vivian, for anyone wondering) before my mission, and it's been a favorite ever since. I make it a lot of times when I take dinner to other people because it's so great. It's easy, fast, inexpensive, kid friendly, and has a totally different sort of taste that is exciting and lovable. Might as well rename it Mary Poppins. Practically prefect in every way.

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Ingredients:

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2 lb chicken

1/2 C flour

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp cooking oil

1 C orange juice

1 1/2 C diced peaches

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp basil

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Directions:

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1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Combine the flour and salt and pepper in a bowl and coat the chicken pieces with the flour mixture.

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2. Warm the oil in a frying pan, and fry the chicken until nicely golden (add more oil if needed).

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3. While the chicken is cooking, combine the orange juice, peaches, brown sugar, vinegar, nutmeg, and basil in a very large frying pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

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4. When chicken is done, pour off the oil and add the chicken to the sauce mixture. Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan - there's a lot of goodness in those brown bits stuck on there.

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5. Stir it all together, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

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6. Serve with rice. Yum!

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Substitution Tips:

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You can make this gluten-free by not breading the chicken at the beginning, just salt and pepper it and fry it up. Then add some cornstarch or other thickening agent to the sauce after adding the chicken.

If you don't have orange juice, you can use the juice from a can of mandarin oranges, just measure it out and make up the difference with juice from the peach jar.

I generally use regular white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar works well too.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I remember in one of my BYU wards we had a Relief Society activity where one of the girls showed us some nicer recipes. She demonstrated stuffed chicken breasts, which I thought were a nice idea and then promptly forgot about. I recently rediscovered this little wonder, and have developed a very handy little method that makes it a cinch. This can be a really gourmet-looking and -tasting dish, but it is actually very quick. Plus, you can put pretty much anything you want in the stuffing and/or sauce, so let your creativity go wild.

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Here's a picture tutorial:

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1. Put your boneless skinless chicken breast in a ziplock bag. I usually don't like the extra-large size chicken breast -- something about walking down the aisle and noticing that the chicken breasts are larger than mine (did I just type that?) is rather disconcerting, but when they are on fire sale, I'll buy a pack and put them individually in the freezer. Then this step is easy, I just take the bag out of the freezer and defrost in the microwave. I usually use a large breast like this (a little less than a pound) for two servings. If you need more, just use more individually bagged chicken.

2. Using a handy mallet like this one (or a frying pan or even a can of vegetables), pound your chicken out flat until it fills the bag.

3. Carefully slide the chicken out of the bag, cut it in half, and reshape it with your fingers if needed. Then spread the filling in the center of each piece.

4. Roll the pieces up with the filling in the middle, secure with toothpicks, and if necessary, shape with your fingers. Rub generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (chicken is done when juices run clear or it reaches an internal temp of 160).

6. When done, remove the toothpicks and serve.

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Alternate serving methods:

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A. After baking, grill the outside. I love my handy over-the-stove griddle for this. The grilling is just a nice finishing touch, as shown here.

B. Ryan suggested this idea - if the filling isn't too runny, slice it width-wise this and serve with garnish or drizzle your choice of sauce over it. This would be really fun for an appetizer or party serving.

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Some filling ideas:

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A. Lemon (keep the rind, but use just one thin round per serving and slice it lengthwise) and garlic slices with an herb like tarragon (or I love herbs de provence). Drizzle lemon juice on top, and add a few thin rounds to the pan for added lemon-y goodness.

B. A nice garlic basil pesto.

C. Cream cheese, chopped kalamata olives, and garlic (a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette drizzled on top is delicious).

D. Ham and swiss cheese with a honey-mustard glaze (extra for dipping at the table).

**Just remember that chicken breast is generally rather dry so if you don't have much juice in your filling, try topping it with some kind of sauce to add moisture, and don't be stingy with cheese in the filling.

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If you come up with other great fillings, please share!

Homemade Potato Gnocchi

Adapted from this recipe.

1 pound Russet Potatoes

3-4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup flour, plus more for dusting

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake potatoes approximately 45 minutes or until soft. Bake them directly on the oven rack, piercing them with a knife or fork prior to baking. Cut in half and scoop out flesh. Pass potatoes through a potato ricer or grate them. You should have about 2 cups. Make a mound of potatoes on the counter with a well in the middle. Add 3 of the egg yolks, the cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and mix well with your hands.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of flour over the potato mixture and press it in well with your hands. Gently work it in to the dough. Gradually add more flour, folding and pressing the dough together just until it holds (try not to knead it). If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or a little water. It should feel firm but yielding to the touch. Test the consistency by forming a rope half an inch in diameter. If it holds together well, it is ready. (I ended up adding a lot more flour than the recipe called for.)

Keeping your dough and your work surface lightly floured, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1/2 an inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2 inch long pieces. Lightly flour the gnocchi as you cut them. (This step is important if you want the gnocchi to dry and not stick together into a huge mess! Not that I know from personal experience... :) You can cook these as is or try to form them into a classic gnocchi shape by following the directions given at the above link.

My gnocchi didn't look so good:

But they tasted great!

Scatter gnocchi on a cookie sheet. Set cookie sheet in front of a fan on low for half an hour, turning after 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop in the gnocchi. Cook for about 90 seconds from the time they rise to the surface. This is obviously hard to time since they all pop up at different times, but they will take on a different texture-kind of bumpy and white-when they are done. If you are unsure, just taste one and see if it's done. Remove cooked gnocchi from water and serve as desired.

Note: I thought this was yummy, but unless you are a huge fan of gnocchi, probably only worth the work occasionally.