Okay Cafe Rio Fans

I got this recipe off of armelle jewelry's blog. We had it tonight and it was a huge hit. Hallie said that I make the best dinners ever, Avery agreed and Nick said it was the bomb to the tenth. I haven't had Cafe Rio enough or recently to know if it tastes just like Cafe Rio, but it was delicious either way!

{cafe rio pork salad}

cafe rio pork
3 lbs pork roast
16 oz chunky salsa [or you can blend if you don't want chunky]
1 can coke
2 cups brown sugar

place pork in crock pot + fill half way up the side of the pork with water. cook on high for 4 hours. drain water. cut pork into thirds, then mix sauce [coke, brown sugar, + salsa] and pour on top. cook 4 more hours on low. shred pork. mix back in with sauce if you want it saucy or not.

cafe rio rice
3 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 can green chili's diced
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp zest of lime
2 tbs lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs butter
1/2 onion, chopped

saute onion, garlic + butter until the onion is soft. add water, rice, and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. after it begins to boil rapidly, reduce the heat to low and cover with the lid + simmer for about 20 minutes.

cafe rio creamy cilantro tomatillo salad dressing
1 package dry hidden valley ranch salad dressing
1 cup mayo
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 large clove garlic
3 small-medium tomatillos, husk off [like tomatoes but green and has a husk on it]
1/3 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or 1 small jalapeno) - optional

place all ingredients in a blender + blend until smooth. chill in fridge at least 1 hour before serving, then it will thicken.

black beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs 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.

Order of assembly: heat a flour tortilla in a skillet, then put on shredded colby +monterray jack cheese, rice, beans, pork, lettuce, pico de gallo - [or chopped tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, lime juice] guacamole, feta cheese crumbles, lime wedge [for lime juice] tortilla strips, cilantro tomatillo dressing

I made a few changes because A. I didn't have very much time, B. I didn't have all of the ingredients.

1.I just used white rice that I already had in the fridge and mixed some salsa in it, that rice sounds good, but come on, I have 4 kids!
2. In the dressing, I used tomatoes because I didn't have tomatillos (I didn't know what they were but I figured the spelling was close to tomatoes, so what the heck)
3. I didn't have any buttermilk so I just used milk
4. I used bottled lime juice
5. I just used canned black beans, they sounded really good, maybe on a day Nick is home
6. I also didn't add the colby-jack cheese, the feta cheese or the guacamole

Even without these things, it was sooooo good. Next time I think I won't use quite as much brown sugar in the pork, maybe like only 1 cup or 1 1/2, it was too sweet for my taste, but it was still quite delish! If you are a true Cafe Rio fan, you will have to try this and let me know if it tastes like Cafe Rio. You can also use this stuff to make the burritos, maybe tomorrow as I have plenty left over!