Thursday, July 14, 2011

"Cafe Rio" Sweet Pork from Heather Christensen

1-3 pounds of pork loin
2 15oz tomato sauce
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 can coke (don't use diet)
1 garlic clove diced
1/4 c cilantro minced

Put all ingredients into crock put and cook for 4 hours on medium (or high if your crock pot doesn't have a setting for medium)

***For the activity we used a 9 pound roast with the bone-in. We tripled the sauce and there was a TON of sauce left - YUMMY

"Cafe Rio" Rice from Heather Christensen

8 cups water
8 cubes of chicken bouillon
2t cumin
4 cloves garlic (2 bulbs)
12 T butter
12 sprigs of cilantro (knot up and remove after cooking - or if you love cilantro chop up and leave in rice)
4 cups rice

Put all in pot, cover bring to bowl and reduce down to simmer, stir occasional after boiling, cook until done (approx 30 minutes)

"Cafe Rio" Pico de Gallo

About 3 Roma tomatoes diced
1 small-ish jalapeno pepper, diced & remove seeds (add seeds to add more kick)
1/2 small onion (white onions are traditional, but I love the color and flavor of red onions)
lime juice

Mix all together, chill and serve

"Cafe Rio" Cilantro Ranch Dressing from Heather Christensen

1 package dry ranch dressing + packet ingredients
14-16 oz, Herdez salsa verde (green) (Herdez is a brand)
1/2 bunch cilantro coarsely chopped (or just blend with dressing)
1 clove garlic (minced)
Juice from 1/2 fresh lime
2-3 jalapenos seeded and coarsely chopped
*you can add some of the seeds to add more kick to the dressing

Make ranch according to directions on packet
Blend all ingredients in blender w/ranch

Chill & serve