Old-Fashioned Shortcake

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter, cut into slices
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease 8x8 pan.

3. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

4. Cut in butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Beat egg and milk together, then stir in vanilla.

6. Stir wet ingredients into dry and mix well. Mixture will come together to form a thick dough, almost like a sugar  cookie.

7. Press dough into prepared pan.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how "done" you want it to be. Twenty minutes will yield a gooey center, twenty-five will be like a soft cookie, and you can cook longer if you want it more crispy.

9. Cool in the pan for ten minutes before serving. Top with strawberries and whipped cream, or as desired.

Tijuana Street Fries

Ingredients:
Spice Mix:
1 Tblsp. smoked paprika
1/2 Tblsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

Pork:
3-4 pounds pork roast
4 Tblsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup tequila
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tblsp. honey
8 Tblsp. vegetable oil (reserved for final steps)

Fried corn:
1 can Mexican roasted corn, drained
1/2 stick butter

Slaw:
2 cups coleslaw mix
3 Tblsp. black beans
1 Tblsp. green chiles, chopped
4 Tblsp. fried corn (see recipe below)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
Diced jalapeños, to taste
Tajín, to taste
Freshly-squeezed lime juice, to taste

Salsa:
Equal parts:
  Medium heat verde salsa
  Fire roasted tomatoes
  Green chiles
  1 Tblsp. garlic

Queso:
1 1/2 cups freshly grated pepper jack cheese
6 Tblsp. milk
4 Tblsp. sour cream
3 oz. cream cheese

Fries:
6 servings frozen French fries, straight cut
Vegetable oil for frying

Additional toppings:
Sour cream
Diced onions
Guacamole or avocado chunks
Shredded cheese


Preparation:
1. Mix spice mix and set aside.

2. Dry pork roast and pat 1/3 of spice mix onto outside of roast.

3. Heat vegetable oil in cast iron skillet. Once hot, add pork and sear roast on all sides until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).

4. Mix liquids (tequila, water, honey) together and put into crock pot. Add pork and cook on medium-low for 8-10 hours.

5. Heat butter in cast iron skillet, then add Mexican corn. Fry corn until about 1/3 of the kernels are crispy brown. Remove from skillet. About half of the corn will be used for the slaw; reserve the remainder for topping the fries.

6. Mix all slaw ingredients together and refrigerate for several hours.

7. Put salsa ingredients into food processor or blender, then blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

8. Put queso ingredients in saucepan on low heat. Stirring frequently, melt cheese and mix ingredients together until smooth. Adjust with additional sour cream and milk to taste.

9. When pork is tender, remove from crock pot and discard juices.

10. Using two forks, shred pork.

11. Heat 8 Tblsp. vegetable oil in cast iron skillet until hot. Add shredded pork and remaining 2/3 of the spice mix and stir. Cook pork until about 1/3 of the pork is slightly crispy. If pork is too dry, add more vegetable oil. Can finish in oven, if desired, while frying French fries. Otherwise, keep hot by putting a lid on the pork or placing in a low-heat warming drawer or oven.

12. Fry the French fries and lightly salt them.

13. To serve, place serving of French fries into bowl or large plate. Drizzle them with a little bit of the queso. Top with slaw, salsa, and any other toppings desired.

Easy Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and chilled rice
4 Tblsp butter
1/2 cup salsa
Tajín seasoning
Goya seasoning
Cumin powder
Salt

Preparation:
1. Heat butter until melted in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Stir it while it's melting to keep it from burning and to spread it out to cover the entire bottom of the skillet. If the entire bottom of the skillet isn't covered, add more butter.

2. Turn skillet heat to high. Press cold rice into skillet in an even layer. Let sit for a minute, then "flip" rice, so that the rice is being browned but not sticking.

3. Once rice is starting to dry out and brown a little (should take just a minute or two), add the salsa and stir gently into rice.

4. Add seasoning to taste.

5. Cook rice for another few minutes until the salsa has dried out a little and the rice is starting to get a little crispy. Serve immediately.

Wagamama's Homemade Chili Chicken Ramen (modified)

Ingredients:
Marinade:
8 Tblsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. ground ginger

Other:
3 large chicken breasts, tenderized
3 Tblsp butter
3 pkgs chicken-flavored ramen noodles
6 cups water
4 chicken boullion cubes
1/8+ cup sriracha sauce
1/4 cup red onion, finely sliced
2 scallions, chopped
1 lime, sliced

Preparation:
1. Mix ginger and soy sauce, and marinade chicken in sauce for at least an hour.

2. Heat butter in cast iron skillet, then sear and sauté chicken breasts until cooked throughout. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Cook ramen in 6 cups of water.

4. Remove ramen from water with slotted spoon and place in bowl to keep warm.

5. Add chicken flavoring (from ramen packages), boullion cubes and sriracha to water and stir until dissolved.

6. Slice cooked chicken at 45°, and place gently on top of the noodles.

7. Ladle broth over noodles and chicken.

8. Garnish as desired with red onions, scallions and lime.


<Special thanks to the Downes family for telling us about this recipe!>