Recipes

Yes, this takes a LOT of effort to make all of it.  You might just want to go to Café Rio and buy a salad.  However, this is a good imitation and feeds 6-8 people.  So it is cheaper.  But you need to have lots of time to bring it all together.

Café Rio Salad

Flour Tortilla

Romaine Lettuce

Lime wedges

Cotija Cheese

Cilantro sprigs

Crispy tortilla strips

Cilantro Lime Rice

3 c water

1 ½ c rice

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp salt

¼ c lime juice

½ c small onion

2 cloves garlic

½ bunch cilantro, remove large stems

1 small can green chilies

Place water, rice, bouillon, and salt in pot.  Bring to boil.  Place lime juice, onion, garlic, cilantro and green chilies in a blender and puree.  Stir into rice.  Simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.

Black Beans

1 can black beans

2 tbs finely minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 c tomato juice

3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp salt

Fry onion, garlic and cumin in a small amount of olive oil.  Add beans, tomato juice, cilantro and salt and heat through.

Sweet Pork

3 lb pork roast in a crock pot with a little water and cook until very tender (8 or more hours on low.)

Shred pork and add:

1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1 small can diced green chilies

1 can Coke (NOT Diet)

1 c brown sugar

salt to taste

Cook for one more hour.

Pico de Gallo

4 ripe tomatoes

½ c chopped white onion

1 jalapeno, minced (remove seeds and veins if you don’t like a lot of heat)

¼ c cilantro, finely chopped

lime juice, to taste

salt, to taste

Mix it all together.

Guacamole

2-3 ripe avocados

1-2 tbs lime juice

½ tomato, finely chopped

2 tbs finely chopped onion

salt, to taste (or use garlic salt)

Mash avocado and lime juice with a fork.  Fold in tomato, onion, and salt.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

1 pkg Ranch Buttermilk Dressing mix

1/3 c buttermilk

½ c mayonnaise

½ c sour cream

3 fresh tomatillos

1 c fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Just put everything in a blender and puree.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours and if you need to, adjust the thickness by adding more buttermilk to thin it out, or sour cream to make it thicker.