Easy Cafe Rio Pork Salad

My family had to celebrate our "Cinco de Mayo" dinner early, because my husband and sons will be camping on May 5th. SO, I made one of our very favorite Mexican meals. Cafe Rio! I know there are many "copy cat" recipes out there, and I have tried quite a few of them. But in my opinion, THIS one is the best by far. I call this recipe "easy" but really, that is just another word for LAZY! The only thing I "prepare" is the pork. Everything else is just thrown on there. Even the dressing is bought! *Gasp* But it's soooooooooooooo good! So here is my recipe for Lazy Easy Cafe Rio Pork Salad.

*This recipe takes a lot of prep time, so take that into account*
Easy Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Pork

• 2-3 lb. pork loin
• 21 oz. Dr. Pepper
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I just use the sauce)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin
  Salad
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 package large flour tortillas
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 cups pico de gallo
• 1/2 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
• 1 lime
• 1 pint Cafe Rio House Dressing

Place pork loin in crock pot and cover halfway with water. Cook 12 hours. Drain. In large bowl, mix Dr. Pepper, sugars, chipotle sauce (if you want it extra spicy, throw a pepper or two in there), garlic, and cumin until sugars are dissolved. Rinse chipotle pepper can with Dr. Pepper to get the most sauce in there that you can! Pour over pork loin, and cook 4 hours. Take two forks, and shred. (The pork is so tender, it will practically shred itself.) Cook 2 more hours.

Assemble your salad. I started with the tortilla, then a bunch of lettuce, pork, beans, pico de gallo, cheese, squeeze some fresh lime juice, then top with the dressing.

The pork stays good in the fridge for a few days. And it makes wonderful leftovers. In fact, I'm eating it for lunch as I type! So excuse me...

Chicken Romaine Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber, sliced
Green Onions, chopped
Won Tons (fried)
Chicken (grilled with cayenne pepper, black pepper & Italian seasoning)
Shredded Mozzerella Cheese

You can add however much of the things above into your salad. Just make it your own.

Dressing:
1/2 Cup Oil
2 Tbsp. Vinegar
4 Tbsp. Sugar
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Chill Overnight

Toss onto Salad right before serving. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (or shredded)
3/4 cup mayo
2 squirts of mustard
1/2 cup (or more) diced apple
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 stalk celery, chopped

Mix all together and serve on croissants or in pitas.

*You can really throw whatever you want into your chicken salad. I also like slivered almonds, but they can be pricey for what you get (I think.) And doing it yourself is too much work. Of course, I am lazy.

Fruit Salad

My Rating: 3 Stars

1 large can pineapple chunks
1 large can mandarin oranges
1 sliced banana
mini-marshmallows (optional)

Dressing:
1 cup pineapple juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat pineapple juice. Beat 2 eggs, add sugar and cornstarch; stir into pineapple juice. Cook until thick. Toss with fruit.