Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Pork or Chicken Cafe Rio Salad Copycat

I know anyone living in Utah right now may not appreciate this, but since moving away, I've been constantly craving Cafe Rio salads. These recipes can take a long time, but if you assign parts of it out to friends, you can get together for a party (it serves 20 people!) I've seen (and tried) other copycat recipes for this, but this is the only one that tasted just like Cafe Rio. Yum Yum! (ps--try buying the tortillas from a mexican restaurant/cafe so it's more authentic.)

Serve in the following order:
Tortillas

Shredded cheese

Chicken or Pork

Black or Pinto Beans

Lime Rice

Red and Green Leaf Lettuce, shredded

Pico de Gallo

Guacamole

Fresh cilantro

Parmesan cheese

Fresh lime slice

Tomatillo dressing



Chicken
lbs Chicken Brest – boneless, skinless
1 small bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tbsp cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. Keep warm.

Pork
Pork Roast
1 bottle of honey barbeque sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 liter of Coke
Place all ingredients in large crock pot and cook on low all night. In the morning take the roast out leaving the juice in the crock pot, shred the roast. Then place the shredded roast back in the crock pot and leave it on low.


Lime Rice
In a sauce pan, sauté:
2 Tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, bring the following to a boil:
6 2/3 cup water
8 tsp chicken bullion
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 small cans diced green chilies
1 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp salt
Add onion and garlic to boiling water. Add 3 cups long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.


Pico de Gallo
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Combine ingredients together in a medium bowl.


Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing dry mix
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tomatillos, peel
½ - 1 clove garlic, minced
½ - 1/3 bunched cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
½ - 1 small Jalapeno, seeds removed
Blend ingredients together in a blender. Add additional mayonnaise if dressing is too thin. Keep refrigerated.

1 comment:

Laura said...

Yum! These are definitely the best salads ever!!!