Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

Recipe posts are boring. But I made this last week for a crowd and promised to post it on the Swendsen blog so I thought I'd post it here too. This is the third Cafe Rio imitation recipe I've tried, and by far the best. I got it from a lady whose friend, a former Cafe Rio employee, gave it to her claiming it is the real thing. I'm skeptical of that but the taste comes awfully close. The secret ingredient in the meat is Dr. Pepper - use caffeine-free if it will help you sleep better at night. :) I made some changes the second time around that I'd like to think are improvements so I'll include those in italics.



Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

Pork
2 lbs pork roast - I used a pork loin roast and it was very tender
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups brown sugar - in my opinion this was overkill so I changed it to 3/4 cup
2 tsp cumin
2 cups Dr. Pepper
2 tsp molasses - I've used honey both times but if you have molasses I bet it would be great
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot, cover and cook for about 10 hours on LOW or five hours on HIGH. Baste as needed (optional). When pork is cooked enough that it will shred, remove and shred with two forks, then replace in crock pot with the juice.

Lime Rice
2 T butter
1 1/4 cup rice
2 1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
pepper
juice and zest of 1 large or 2 small limes
2 T chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin

Stir together all ingredients in pot, bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
1 8-oz jar green salsa, found in the ethnic food aisle
1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing (dry) - I actually forgot to include this and it still turned out very flavorful. If you include it, be sure to omit the salt.
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup low fat mayo
1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular) - Next time I'll reduce this to 1/3 cup to make the dressing less runny.
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - I omitted
1/2 tsp salt
2 T lime juice
1 T sugar

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.

Other ingredients that go with the meal: chopped or shredded lettuce, black beans, pico de gallo (or just chopped tomatoes), guacamole, cheese, tortilla strips (or just tortilla chips).