Cafe Rio

I LOVE Cafe Rio. We have tried and tried to duplicate the Cafe Rio pork salad.. and tonight.. we nailed it! It was DELICIOUS!! We have tried different sweet pork recipes but something seemed to be missing from each one.. so we combined a few and made our own! 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.

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!!

What you’ll need:

Tortillas (about 6.. we like to use the uncooked tortillas from Costco so we can fry 'em up ourselves, but regular tortillas work great too!)
Cheese
Cafe Rio Rice

Cafe Rio Black Beans
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)
Diced tomato, onion, and cilantro (pico de gallo)
Guacamole
Sour cream
Tortilla Strips (can be found by the produce section at Smith's or Fry’s if you live in Arizona)
Parmesan cheese
Cafe Rio Cilantro Ranch

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).

Pico de Gallo recipe

2 tomatoes (diced small)

1/2 onion (diced small)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp of Salsa (i like pace)

Guacamole Recipe

2 ripe avocados

1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

1/4 tsp. of lemon juice

1/4 CUP of salsa (picante pace)

Dash of Salt

Mash the avocados then add all ingredients and stir well!

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 dressing and there you have it!
(scroll down to see the rice, beans, pork, and ranch recipes all together...)

SWEET PORK

2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can 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 1/2 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 Tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 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 1 tsp. 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
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can c. tomato juice ( 5.5 fl oz)
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.

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 garlic
juice of 1/2 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, let refridgerate for 1 hour. That's it!