Cafe {homemade} Rio

Yesterday on Facebook, I commented that we were having the missionaries over for dinner and that I was excited because we were having homemade Cafe Rio. (For my friends who have never heard of it...Cafe Rio is a yummy Mexican restaurant that was first in Utah and has since branched out to AZ and I've heard it's on it's way to CA as well). Anyway, after I posted that, a few of my friends asked for the recipes, so I thought I'd just post them here. And for the record, I found these somewhere on the Internet, but for the life of me can not find them now (which is a real bummer because it means I have to type them all out instead of copy and pasting. But for you, my friends, I'll do it).

Here goes...

Lime-Cilantro Rice

2 Tbsp. Oil
4 C. long grain rice (6 C. water)
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp. crushed garlic

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add rice, cilantro and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water and lime juice and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (about 20 minutes). You can also use a rice cooker if you have one.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Pork Roast
1 (16 oz.) bottle of salsa
1 can of Coke
2 C. brown sugar

Place pork in crock-pot and fill it half way up with water. Cook roast on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork in thirds. Mix together ingredients (salsa, coke, brown sugar) and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks. Leave it on low until ready to serve.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. mayo or sour cream
2-3 tomatillos (peel off outer leaf/shell)
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tsp.)
Salt & Pepper

Blend all ingredients in the blender. Refrigerate.

Serving Suggestions

You can either assemble burrito style or salad-style. For salad-style, lightly toast a buttered tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese to get the tortilla a bit of a crunchy texture. Place tortilla on a plate or in a large salad bowl. Then put rice, pork, chopped lettuce and the dressing. Finally, garnish your salad with shredded cheese, tomatoes, sliced avocados or whatever else you may want.

My suggestions: The dressing was a bit runny when I made it. I used the sour cream, not the mayo. Next time I make it, I may try adding less buttermilk, perhaps? If anyone has any ideas on how to make the dressing a bit thicker, please let me know. And as far as the pork is concerned, the pork roast I used was kind of small, but it did not take nearly the time this recipe calls for. I cooked mine on low the entire time and it was perfect after 4 hours or so. I guess it depends on how big your roast is.