Cafe Rio Pork

For my son Joshua's birthday he said he wanted "Spaghetti with meatballs and pasta with basil on it (pesto)."  We were celebrating with family on Sunday after church, and since we don't get out until 4pm and everyone was coming over at 5pm, I wanted to do something that required a little less prep time.  Since he loves going to Cafe Rio, it was easy to have him switch his order to Cafe Rio Pork.  I was even able to cook it the day before in the crockpot, then heat it up Sunday after church.

Cafe Rio Pork

6 lbs pork (tenderloin works best)

1 16oz bottle salsa

1 can Coke

2 c. brown sugar

This recipe was so simple.  I was skeptical as to how good it would turn out, but it was sweet and delicious.  All you do is put the pork in a crockpot and add water to fill it half way up the pork.  Cook the pork on high for five hours, then drain off the water, cut your pork into thirds, mix the Salsa, Coke, and sugar, and poor it in.  Cook everything for 3 more hours. Finally shred your pork with a fork and you're ready to serve. 

We served the pork with tortillas, black beans, rice, lettace, tomatoes, and cheese.  Though the recipe for the Cafe Rio Salad Dressing is in the cookbook, I took the easy route and picked it up from Cafe Rio.  They sell their dressing for $5.99 a pint - which I think is a pretty good deal!

Chinese Chicken Ramen Salad

I was in the mood for a crunchy salad and I came upon this great recipe. It is perfect! the textures are great, the dressing just goes with it perfectly. I was afraid to make it because Chase hates salad and if I made this I wanted it to be the main course ( I am to tired to make anything else haha ). But i was pleasantly surprised when I went in for seconds Chase was already having thirds! He loved this salad and that says a lot!

4 Chicken breast cooked and shredded

2 heads of lettuce

6 scallions

2 pkgs. top ramen noodles ( don't use the flavor)

4 T. slivered almonds

4 T. sesame seeds

tear lettuce into pieces. Put into large bowl and add scallions. Break top ramen noodles into small pieces and add to lettuce. Toast Almonds at 350 for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet. Put Almonds, chicken, and sesame seeds with lettuce.

Dressing:

3/4 C. seasoned vinegar

1/2 C. Sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 C. Vegetable oil

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Shake in tupperware container until sugar is dissolved. Slowly add oil to mix. Pour over salad and toss. Enjoy!

Tami's "Lime" Chicken

I say "Lime" because when I went to make this I realized I had lemon juice instead of lime juice. So the recipe I made was actually for lemon chicken. It is good either way! This chicken recipe is easy and a crowd pleaser. It is very versitile. You can use it for tacos, salads or however you like! It is also good just on it's own.

Tami's Lime Chicken (or lemon)

1/2 c. fresh lime or lemon juice

1/2 c. white vinegar

1/2 c. oil ( I used about half this)

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. sesame seeds

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix all ingredients. Marinate chicken for 3 hours or overnight (the longer the better in my opinion). Barbeque chicken. Serve whole or slice into thin slices.

Fresh Strawberry Dessert

I love this one. It was my first time making it - even though my Mother-in-Law gave me the recipe 8 years ago at a bridal shower. It just looked too complicated for me to try sooner. But I was craving it this week and I had to make dinner for a friend, so I decided to tackle it.

Fresh Strawberry Dessert

2 pkgs vanilla cream-filled cookies (my package - Ralphs brand - was twice the size of the oreo's so I just needed one)

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts

3 baskets fresh stawberries sliced in halves or thirds

2 c. wipped cream, whipped and sweetened

Filling:

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. powdered sugar

4 eggs, seperated

1/4 c. lemon juice

Crush your cookies in a food processor. Then layer them (about a 1/2 layer) in the bottom or a 9 x 13 pan. You'll have cookies left over. Sprinkle your nuts on top. (I'm sorry to admit that I just don't like the nuts layer, so I left it out.)

Now for the filling - Beat the butter, powdered sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Then add the lemon juice. In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Then fold the two mixtures together. Spread the filling on top of your crumbs (and nuts). Then add your sliced strawberries. You can do one or two layers of strawberries. This time I did one and next time I'm definitely doing two. I LOVE the fresh strawberries! Whip your cream and sweeten with powdered sugar. (give it a taste to tell if it's sweetened enough). Then spread it on top of the stawberries. Finally add some more cookie crumbs on top of the whipped cream. (I had my 4 year old help me with that, and we went a little crazy!)

I think this dessert tastes best after a couple of hours in the fridge. You can even make it the day before. It honestly wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. And it's one of my favorite desserts for this season of yummy strawberries!

Taco Soup

I make taco soup way too often...But it's just so easy!

Taco Soup
2 lbs ground beef (1 lb ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
1 15 oz can kidney beans, with liquid

1 15 oz can pinto beans, with liquid

2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes with liquid
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (15 oz V8 juice)
1 pkg. taco seasoning

The original recipe is in black, the green are my substitutions/ additions to the recipe. I like my taco soup with more beans, and less meat. The V8 juice is just out of convenience - we don't keep canned tomato sauce on hand. To make this soup, just brown the ground beef and chopped onions with salt and pepper. Then add all your canned ingredients, including their liquid, and the taco seasoning. Simmer for 30 minutes - or in a crockpot for several hours. Serve it up with sour cream, grated cheese, and some chips. This also a super easy way to feed a big crowd.

Healthy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Since I am not drinking any Margarita's today... I decided to make to make Enchiladas in honor of Cinco de Mayo. These chicken and cheese enchiladas are my own recipe, therefore they are made with a healthy twist :) There are two ways I do the sauce. One as explained in the recipe or I cheat and buy the enchilada sauce from Trader Joe's. It is delicious and makes it easy when I am making a lot of enchiladas like I did this time around.

Lori's Healthy Chicken Enchiladas

3 c. cooked chicken breast, shredded

10-12 low carb wheat tortillas

1 can healthy request cream of chicken soup

1-2 TB. Taco seasoning

2 c. light shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 c. plain greek yogurt ( or light sour cream)

1 pkg. Lawrys Enchilada sauce ( prepared with water and 1, 6oz. can of tomato paste)

OR cheat and use Trader Joe's enchilada sauce.

Mix soup, yogurt, chicken, taco seasoning and 1 to 1 1/2 c cheese together and set aside. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Fill tortillas (about 3 TB of mixture), roll and place tortillas into pan. Pour the prepared Enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 15-20 min or until bubbling.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Dip

This dip is just the prefect side to any vegetables you have. It is delicious! I make it for almost any occasion and it makes a ton! i love having it left over cause it just makes me eat my vegetables more even though the dip kind of counter acts with the healthiness of the vegetables :). Piece of advice, make this a day before so the flavors mix together. Enjoy!

2 C. mayonnaise

2 C. of sour cream

1 lg pkg of ranch buttermilk recipe dressing mix

2 C. finely grated cheddar cheese