Cafe Rio Mocks

Café Rio Dressing
(this makes a lot – so it’s probably best to half the recipe)

2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream
10 springs of cilantro
3 los tomatoes (green tomatoes – fresh or canned)
2 green onions (washed and chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper ( seeds and all)
Juice of 1 lime
1 or 2 tsp of salt (depends on how much salt you like)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Dressing lasts for 2 weeks in refrigerator.

Café Rio Sweet Meat
Tastes just like Café Rio meat and is oh-so-easy to make.

1-2 lbs of beef or pork (the cheapest filets/steaks you can find will work)
¾ cups Pace Salsa (or whatever kind you prefer)
¾ cups brown sugar

Brown the meat in skillet on high heat. (Only a few seconds on both sides will do). Place the meat into the slow cooker.

Combine the salsa and brown sugar an pour over the meat in your slow cooker.

Cook for 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low. With one hour remaining, shred the meat with fork and knife – it should pull apart rather easily. Replace lide and cook fot the remaining hour.

Serve with Riquisimas tortillas (those are the best) – You can butter them and brown them in a frying pan with cheese melted all over. MMMMMMmmmm.

This is great all rolled up in the cheesy tortilla with black beans (add a small can of tomato sauce, salt and a bit of brown sugar to taste), lettuce and rice (cook as directed – adding 2 T butter, 1 cube of chicken bullion, and juice from 1 lime).

Café Rio Dressing – another variation

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos
½ bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (use seeds for spicy, or no seeds for mild, green Tabasco sauce can be a substitute for the jalapeno.

Use a food processor or blender to blend all the ingredients and enjoy.

Café Rio Chicken

Chicken Breast – (was not noted on how much chicken)
1 small bottle KRAFT Italian dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T Cumin
3 cloves garlic

Cook all ingredients in a crock-pot for 4 hours on low, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through)

Shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

Chili Verde

5 lbs boneless pork (Center cut pork chops-ask your butcher to cube)
½ cup oil
4 T flour
5 cups beef broth
1 chopped onion
6 cloves garlic
32 oz diced green chilies, drained
2 T ground cumin
Fresh or bottles Jalapeno peppers to taste
4 tsp chili powder
3 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried oregano

Sauté pork and onion in oil to brown.

Puree broth with garlic, green chilies, jalapenos and flour. Add pork

Add cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and oregano to pork mixture and simmer on low heat until pork is tender, about 4-6 hours.

(I put mine in the crock-pot on high for 5 hours)

Candied Popcorn

1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
3/8 cup white corn syrup
1 tbls butter

1/2 tsp candy flavor or extract
2 drops food coloring

1/2 cup popcorn, popped

In a heavy saucepan, heat first four ingredients. Cook to 280 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat and quickly stir in extract and coloring. Add imediately to popcorn and toss.

I use cooking spray in the popcorn bowl. And I spray two big spoons to help mix the candy onto the popcorn quickly.

Ideas for flavors..... peppermint, maple, cinnamon, pineapple, root beer, vanilla

Good luck and happy poppin'!!

Blonde Brownies

2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and add,

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix until completely combined, then add 6 oz of chocolate chips and or 1 cup chopped nuts (all optional)

Bake in 9x13 pan for 20 minutes @ 375.

I've been searching for the recipe FOREVER. I LOVE these things... their chewy and yummy! I finally got the recipe out of my old ward's Relief Society cookbook that my mom gave to me. SWEET!!! literally! enjoy!