Okay I totally stole this recipe from my friend matt's blog, but he stole it from someone else so it's okay. The pork alone makes this so worth while. I know some of you don't care for Cafe Rio, but living out here in NY where Taco Bell is passable Mexican food, makes recipes like this a godsend.
CHICKEN
5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 sm bottle zesty italian dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all ingred together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken. Keep warm.
PORK
3.5 lbs pork roast
1 bottle taco sauce (8 oz)
1 T cumin
1 C brown sugar
1 can Coke (not diet)
Cook pork in pot on low for 6 hours (cover roast 1/2 with water. I cooked for a couple of hours on high and switched to low, that made it shred easier; also, when you add the other ingredients, please take out some of the water, leaving only about ½ in. in the bottom of the pot). Add ingred. to pork 3 hours before it is done.
LIME RICE
in a saucepan, saute:
2 T butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
In a large pot, bring to a boil the following:
6 2/3 cups water
8 t chicken buillion
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 sm cans diced green chilies
1 T lime juice
1/2 t pepper
3 cups of rice (maybe a half cup more, you'll have to play with it)
Pico de Gallo
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t lime juice
1 t salt1/2 t pepper
TOMATILLO DRESSING
1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix
1 C buttermilk
1 C Mayo
1 to 2 tomatillos
1/2 to 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 to 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 t lime juice
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed!
Serve in the following order:
tortillas
cheese
shredded chicken or pork
black or pinto beans
lime rice
red and green leaf lettuce, shredded
sprinkle crunch corn strips on top
fresh Parmesan cheese
sides of:
pico de gallo
guacamole
fresh cilantro
fresh lime slice
tomatillo dressing
Thank you. There are days when I crave cafe rio so completely it hurts.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try it with Dr. Pepper. (Cuz I know a girl who knows a guy who knows...)
OHHHHH. You'll have to tell me how that goes. It was pretty spectacular with Coke.
ReplyDeleteMy report: You have to try it with the Dr. Pepper. I really did hear that from someone who used to work there.
ReplyDeleteI added the marinade earlier--as soon as I could pull it open a bit with a fork. About half-way through cooking the pork with the marinade and added another cup of Dr. Pepper. Cuz I like it sweet (another fabulous thing to add into any meat marinade--except maybe fish--is cherry juice). Anyway, it was a big hit.
I did the rice in my rice cooker. I sautéed the onion and garlic then added the other ingredients with a can of chicken broth and only two chicken boullion cubes (I definitely could have added more). I threw that over 4 cups rice in my rice cooker and then added more water--more than I normally would have for 4 cups rice. It was perfect.
I didn't quite know how to prepare the beans--I just heated them up and seasoned them with garlic salt and some pepper. If you have suggestions on those that would be great.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I've got 4 kids and three of them are teenagers who can put away a lot of food. It costs us almost $60 to eat at Café Rio, so I was glad to feed my entire family and a friend for half that. And we had leftovers.
See I found the pork w/DP a bit too sweet. We just did the chicken though, absolutely awesome!
ReplyDeleteTrying the chicken today. Can't wait!
ReplyDelete