{cafe rio salad}

October 17, 2007


:: ok, i know there have been a million different posts from different people about this recipe, [sorry i’ve forgotten all of them] but i finally tried it + i decided to combine what i liked from all the recipes i found and it turned out yum-o ::

so, here is my version. enjoy! [makes a ton, so invite friends or eat it for three days straight for breakfast lunch + dinner like i did 🙂 ]

{cafe rio pork salad/burritos}cafe rio pork

3 lbs pork roast [ask your butcher where it is if you don’t know.. one time i came home with ham instead of pork..]
16 oz chunky salsa [or you can blend if you don’t want chunky]
1 can coke
2 cup brown sugarplace 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 rice3 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillion
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, choppedsaute 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 dressing1 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) – optionalplace all ingredients in a blender + blend until smooth. chill in fridge at least 1 hour before serving, then it will thicken.

black beans
[i just used a can of black beans without anything else, but this recipe looks good too]

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 cilantroin 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.assembly salad- order of assembly
tortilla – i use the tortilla land brand of uncooked flour tortillas from costco or sams. they are awesome and taste like cafe rio’s homemade tortillas
shredded colby +monterray jack cheese
rice
beans
pork
lettuce
pico de gallo – [or chopped tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, lime juice]
guacamole
feta cheese crumbles
cilantro
lime wedge [for lime juice]
tortilla strips
cilantro tomatillo dressing
burrito

toritilla
rice beans
pork
shredded cheese
any other toppings wanted
roll it upENJOY!p.s. i found a chicken recipe if you would like to substitute chicken instead of pork.cafe rio chicken

1 small bottle of kraft zesty italian dressing
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs chicken breast

cook all together in a crockpot for 4 hours on high, shred, then cook for an additional 1 hour.ENJOY!

6 thoughts on “{cafe rio salad}

  1. Brit

    I tried to do a mock Cafe Rio but it was a basic, basic salad with basically just the dressing. My friend directed me to your post on the recipes and tonight we made the whole enchilada… well, in this case the whole salad. It was delicious. Thank you for posting this and I enjoy your blog. I plan to post a link to your blog… is this ok?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Anna

    I found this post recently, and decided to try it out. It was really good.

    The differences I did was that I did chicken instead of pork, but used the same recipe. I didn’t have a crockpot, so I baked the chicken in the oven with tinfoil over it so it wouldn’t crisp up. It wasn’t as pull apart as the crockpot would have been, but it still turned out good.

    I didn’t have buttermilk for the dressing, so I just used milk in place of it. Still was awesome tasting.

    The rice tasted just like the stuff in the restuarant. It turned out very good and was very easy.

    The only problem I had was the tortilla. There is definately a difference between homemade and store bought. But it was all still good.

    There ended up being 5 servings of the salad for us. I halved the rice recipe, and still have a little bit leftover. There is a bunch of dressing leftover, but that could be good on other things too.

    So glad I found this post, because it was really fun to make this.

    Reply
  3. Positively Patty

    Since you said you just used black beans instead of the recipe I thought I would comment. This week a couple of us have used these recipes for dinners we held. We found there was way too much tomato juice in the beans. We cut it back to about 1/3 cup. Much better.

    Reply

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