Mexican Rice

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 servings

 1 pound lean ground beef

 1 onion, diced

 1 green bell pepper, diced

 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

 2 cups fresh corn kernels

 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers

 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

 1/2 cup salsa

 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

 1/2 teaspoon paprika

 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 1 teaspoon minced cilantro

 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice

 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a medium stock pot, brown the ground beef over medium heat. Drain any fat. Add onion and green pepper. Cook until onion is tender.
2. Stir in the beef broth, corn, tomatoes with green chile peppers and tomato sauce. Add salsa, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cilantro. Mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil and stir in rice.
3. Cover and cook until rice is done, about 25 minutes.
4. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the mixture and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 8 servings

 1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti

 1 pound ground beef

 1 onion, chopped

 1 (32 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce

 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

 2 eggs

 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 5 tablespoons butter, melted

 2 cups small curd cottage cheese, divided

 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir beef and onion until meat is browned and onions are soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt.
4. Whisk eggs, Parmesan cheese, and butter in a large bowl. Mix in spaghetti to egg mixture and toss to coat. Place half the spaghetti mixture into baking dish. Top with half the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and meat sauce. Repeat layers. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes longer.

Torta di Riso

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 1 torta

 3 tablespoons olive oil

 4 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 2 large eggs, beaten

 3 cups chopped leeks

 4 cloves garlic, minced

 2 cups cooked rice

 2 cups finely chopped cooked spinach, squeezed dry

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 1 pinch cayenne pepper

 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush a pie plate with 1 tablespoon olive and dust with 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

2-Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir leeks with a pinch of salt in hot oil until leeks are soft and sweet, 8  to 10 minutes. Add garlic into leeks and cook until fragrant, about 1 minuteand half.

3-Put leek mixture, rice, eggs, salt, black pepper, spinach, 3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg  together in a bowl. Transfer spinach-rice mixture to the prepared pie dish and smooth the surface with a spatula; dust the top with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

4-Bake in the preheated oven until torta is lightly browned around the outside and firm to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 8 servings

 1 cup all-purpose flour

 3 tablespoons cornstarch

 2 teaspoon baking powder

 2 teaspoon salt

 1 egg

 1 cup of beer

 1 cup plain yogurt

 1 cup mayonnaise

 1 lime, juiced

 2 jalapeno pepper, minced

 2 teaspoons minced capers

 1 teaspoon dried oregano

 1 teaspoon ground cumin

 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

 2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions

 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas

 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Directions

1.To make beer batter: In a bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture.

2.To make white sauce: In a bowl, melt together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, dill, capers, oregano, cumin and cayenne.

3.Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

4.Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.

Roast Pork with Blueberry Port Sauce

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings

 1 (2 1/2 pound) pork shoulder roast

 salt and ground black pepper to taste

 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

 2 cup port wine

 1/2 cup chicken broth

 2 tablespoon olive oil

 1 large shallot, halved

 5 sprigs fresh rosemary

 4 tablespoons cold butter

Directions

1- Season roast generously on all sides with salt and black pepper.

2- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Season roast generously on all sides with salt and black pepper.

3- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook roast in hot oil until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Add shallot, cut-side down, to skillet and place rosemary sprigs on top of roast.

4- Roast pork in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Flip pork, place rosemary sprigs back on top of roast, and break up shallots with a spoon. Continue roasting until slightly pink in the center, about 40 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

5- Transfer roast to a platter to rest for 10 minutes. Drizzle any excess fat in the skillet over the top of roast.

6- Place the same skillet over medium heat. Stir blueberries into skillet and cook and stir until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour port wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

7-Stir chicken broth into blueberry mixture, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until liquid is reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cold butter into sauce and whisk until completely incorporated. Strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

8-Slice pork roast against the grain into thin slices and top with blueberry sauce.