Eat as a salad with a tortilla on the bottom plus some black beans and cilantro rice, meat and lettuce topped with pico de gallo, chip strips and cilantro and a lime wedge.My home version- ohhh… it was yummy!My kids ate meat, rice and beans in a flour tortilla
I got this recipe from this blog post: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2007/11/jared-and-i-love-cafe-rio.htmlThe blogger wrote,“We have tried and tried to duplicate the Cafe Rio sweet pork salad.. and tonight.. we nailed it! It was DELICIOUS!! We have tried different sweet pork recipes but something seemed to be missing from each one.. so we combined a few and made our own! I promise, we are VERY VERY picky about our Cafe Rio pork and this tasted EXACTLY like it. We also played around with the rice, the beans, and the ranch. At dinner tonight, we felt like we were having Cafe Rio take-out. However, we liked our recipe even BETTER!!! Don’t believe us? Try it out for yourself and you will see!”
SWEET PORK:
2 pounds pork (we like to use boneless pork ribs)
3 12oz. cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can diced green chilies
3/4 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 c. brown sugar
Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don’t let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That’s it! (making this recipe x4 for a meal swap)
FOR FREEZING: PLACE PREPARED PORK INTO QUART SIZED BAG AND FREEZE. THAW. REHEAT ON STOVETOP.
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CILANTRO RANCH SALAD DRESSING:
***This recipe makes ALOT of dressing. It makes enough for a few families. For a family of 6 people or less cut the recipe in half or thirds.
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That’s it!
**I RECOMMEND MAKING THIS FROM SCRATCH, BUT IF YOU MUST FREEZE IT, YOU WILL NEED TO WHISK IT WHEN IT THAWS. THE TEXTURE MAY BE A LITTLE OFF**