Birthday Dinner - Fake Cafe Rio

Cafe Rio Chicken

1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tsp minced garlic powder
sea salt
cracked pepper

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp water

½ cup olive oil

1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Emulsify everthing but chicken in a blender. Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

Sweet Pork

2 pounds boneless pork
2 liters coke classic (I actually used caffeine-free Pepsi)
¼ cup brown sugar
dash garlic salt
¼ cup water
1 can sliced green chilies
¾ can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 cup brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about 2 ¼ cups of coke and about ¼ cup of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, ¾ cup of coke, ¼ cup of water, and a dash of 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 ¾ cup of Coke, 1 can chilies, ¾ can enchilada sauce and 1 cup of brown sugar. 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.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

4 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic –minced
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles—or equivalent fresh
¾ tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
½ onion
2 cups rice

Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.

Black Beans

2 cans black beans, rinsed
2 Tbsp finely mined onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup tomato juice
3 Tbsp 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.

Café Rio Dressing

1 Tbsp dry buttermilk ranch dressing (or 1 pkg)

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk
2 tomatillos
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (You could substitute a few drops of green Tabasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.