HOMEMADE SOUTHERN BBQ SAUCE

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
3/4 chopped onion
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons yellow prepared mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons paprika
Pinch garlic powder
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.

Yields: 3 cups

BABY BACK RIBS (with Paula Deen's BBQ sauce)

Ingredients
2 racks baby back ribs (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Directions
1 recipe Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows:
Lemon wedges
Fresh rosemary sprigs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the racks of ribs in half crosswise. Rub the ribs, paying special attention to the meaty side, with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Lay the rib pieces meat side down in an 11 by 13-inch baking dish. The pieces will overlap slightly.

Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the meat begins to pull away from the
ends of the bones and the ribs are just tender, about 1 hour.

*Cook's Note: You can bake the ribs up to a day before and keep them refrigerated. Bring refrigerated ribs to room temperature about 1 hour before you grill them.

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat.

Grill the ribs, brushing them with about half the remaining sauce, until they're crispy and heated through, about 10 minutes. Move the ribs around as they grill; the sugar in the barbecue sauce makes it easy for them to burn. Let the ribs rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting them into 1 or 2-bone pieces. Put out the rest of the sauce for dipping or brush it over the ribs.

Barbecue Sauce:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
3/4 chopped onion
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons yellow prepared mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons paprika
Pinch garlic powder
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: 3 cups

PAPA BEAR OATMEAL

Ingredients
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
3 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup raisins (we DO NOT add raisins)
1 banana, sliced
1 cup sliced strawberries (only in season - we usually don't add strawberries either)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Brown sugar, for serving
Honey, for serving

Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups water and the salt to a boil. Stir in the oats and simmer until almost thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the raisins and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more

Spoon the oatmeal into individual bowls and serve. Place the banana and strawberry slices, cream, brown sugar, and honey into the oatmeal bowl. Stir if desired.

PEACH PARFAIT (Paula Dean)

Ingredients
4 ripe peaches, diced (about 2 pounds)
4 teaspoons light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup crumbled Sandies pecan shortbreads (about 10 cookies), plus additional for garnish
Fat-Free whipped topping (recommended: Reddi Whip)

Directions
In a medium bowl toss the peaches with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Place a layer of the peaches in the bottom of a parfait glass.
Sprinkle the peaches with a large pinch of cookie crumbs and top with the whipped cream.
Repeat with two more layers of each ingredient and garnish with an additional sprinkle of the cookie crumbs.
Repeat with the remaining parfait glasses and serve immediately or chill up to 4 hours before serving.

Cafe Rio SWEET PORK SALAD

I promise, we are VERY VERY picky about our Cafe Rio pork and this tasted EXACTLY like it. We also played around with the rice, the beans, and the ranch. At dinner tonight, we felt like we were having Cafe Rio take-out. However, we liked our recipe even BETTER!!! Don't believe us? Try it out for yourself and you will see!

It really is easier than it looks. It only took me about an hour to make (after the pork was in the crock pot). The rice and beans are SUPER easy, you definitely want the beans and rice to get the whole experience! Also, be generous with the cilantro! Try it and let me know what you think! I KNOW you won't be disappointed!!

6 large Tortillas (click HERE)

Shredded cheese, Mexican blend

Cafe Rio Rice (click HERE)

Cafe Rio Black Beans (click HERE)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork (click HERE)

Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)

Diced tomato, onion, and cilantro (pico de gallo)

Guacamole (click HERE)

Sour cream

Tortilla Strips (click HERE)

Cotija cheese, crumbled (or you can use Parmesan)

Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch (click HERE)

OR

***NEW*** Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (click HERE)

Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). Add guacamole (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and sour cream. Add crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch or vinaigrette dressing and there you have it! (makes about 6 salads)(scroll down to see the rice, beans, pork, and ranch recipes all together...)

SWEET PORK:

2 pounds pork (we like to use boneless pork ribs)

3 cans Coke (NOT diet)

1/4 c. brown sugar

dash garlic salt

1/4 c. water

1 can diced green chilies

3/4 (1o oz) can red enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)

1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry).

Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

CILANTRO-LIME RICE:

1 c. uncooked rice

1 tsp. butter or margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp. sugar

3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water.

Bring to a boil.

Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.

Remove from heat.

In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

BLACK BEANS:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/3 c. tomato juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it.

Add beans, tomato juice, and salt.

Continually stir until heated through.

Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

(**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")

CILANTRO RANCH:

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlicjuice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

EASY MACARONI & CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:

6 C cooked macaroni, drained but still hot
3-4 C grated chedder cheese (or a combination of cheeses) (keep 1/2 C to the side to put on top)
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 C sour cream
6 T butter, cut into pieces (or melted)
1/2 - 3/4 t salt
1 1/2 C milk

In drained macaroni, add all of the cheese (except for 1/3-1/2 C) to melt. In separate bowl, add eggs, sour cream, butter, salt and milk and combine. Add liquid mixture to macaroni/cheese mixture and combine. Put into 13X9 baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes on 350 degrees.

Base recipe taken from Paula Dean. I just tweaked it some.

LEMON RASPBERRY CUPCAKE

Ingredients

1 cup(s) (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cup(s) sugar
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
5 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour, combined with above flour
1 teaspoon(s) all-purpose flour, combined with above flour
1 1/3 cup(s) (scant) cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) sour cream

Meyer Lemon Curd
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Sanding sugar
24 raspberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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Sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. Add sour cream; mix until well combined.
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In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
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Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely.
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Using an apple corer, make a hole in the top of each cupcake, taking care not to push the corer through the bottom; remove cake from hole. Fill a squirt bottle with lemon curd and squeeze curd into holes.
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Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch plain round tip and fill with buttercream. Pipe buttercream in a circular motion on top of each cupcake; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Pipe a dollop of buttercream in the center of each cupcake and top with a raspberry.