With Singleness of Heart- Tamale Pie

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1/2 to 1 cup chopped onions

1clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced green pepper

1 can (12 ounces whole kernel corn) drained

2 1/2cups cooked or canned tomatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 cup water

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Corn Cheese Topping (below)

Lightly brown meat in 12-inch skillet. Add onions, garlic, and green pepper. Stir in corn, tomatoes, and chili powder, and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix the water and cornmeal together and stir into meat mixture. Cover and simmer about 8 minutes; then pur into a shallow 3-quart baking dish. ( Can be refrigerated at this point) Top with Corn cheese topping. Bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes. Serves 8 - 10.

Corn Cheese Topping

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup (about 1/4 lb) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat together milk, salt and butter. Slowly stir in cornmeal. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and lightly beaten eggs. Spread over casserole.

Roasted Sweet Pork (another Cafe Rio Wanna be)

6 (approx) pounds Pork butt/shoulder
1 19 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce
1 can Dr. Pepper (20 oz) annie says she uses root beer
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 Clove Garlic or 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine all ingredients into your crockpot and cook on low overnight or until meat is tender.

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing (Cafe Rio cilantro lime dressing)

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:
Dump all the following in a blender and blend:
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
1/3 to 1/2 c. cilantro leaves (lightly packed)
1 small tomatillo
1/2 tsp. lime juice
dash cayenne pepper
1 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, stemmed and seeds removed
1 tsp. salt
dash Tabasco sauce
1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix

I like to butter a tortillo and heat it in a skillet and press it into a pasta bowl or some other shallow bowl. Then put warm rice on the bottom, beans, corn, lettuce, and top with the dressing. The leftover ingredients are also great in burritos with a red sauce.

Cafe Rio Wanna Be Tortilla Soup

4 Chicken Breast (boiled and shredded) then add:

4 cups water
2 cups water boiled with 4 cubes chicken bouillon (or 4 tsp. of powder)
Onion flakes

Then add:
½ cup green onion chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro (I usually just cut the leaves with kitchen shears—much easier)
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1 jar of salsa (the best is Pace garlic/lime, but I rarely can find it)
2 or 3 gloves of garlic (optional)
2 tsp. chili powder

Cook all together until carrots are tender. Top with tortilla chips (I like the lime kind) and motzarella cheese.

Winger's Sauce

1/3 Cup Frank's Hot Sauce(it has to be Frank's...no other hot sauce will taste as good)

1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Water

Mix all ingredients together in a sauce pan. Heat until brown sugar is dissolved. Do not over cook sauce or it will become hard. Serve with chicken fingers and enjoy!

Butter Corn Puffs

This is a recipe that Melissa brings to Lake Powell that everyone loves.

Chester's Corn Puffs, butter flavor (like cheetos only plain)
1 1/3 square butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs water
Melt the mixture and bring to a boil for 4 min. Add:
1 tsp vanilla
Stir the mixture over 1 1/2 bags of the puffs and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 225 for 10 min. Cool.
I bought the corn puffs at Walgreens and used 3 bags to make 2 batches. In some stores they are really big bags and you would have to adjust the amount of the syrup accordingly.

Cucumber Punch

For each batch:

2 - 2 litre bottles of diet lemon-lime soda (Do not chill)

(The cheaper the better since they aren't quite as sweet)

1 - 12 oz can of limeade concentrate

1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded (if seeds are large) and pureed

2 drops almond flavoring (don't use too much - this is only to soften the acidity - not give almond flavoring to punch)

1/2 small bag of ice

Put ice in punch bowl, add other ingredients, stir and enjoy!