Sweet Pork (Cafe Rio Copy Cat)

Ingredients:
3-5 lbs pork loin or pork roast
1 1/2 cans coke classic
1 cup sugar
7 oz can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
     (provides a lot of heat...or plain sauce for sweeter sauce)
1 tsp dry ground mustard, heaping
1 tsp cumin, heaping
1 tsp minced garlic

Remove the chilies (throw chilies away) from adobe sauce add all ingredients except pork in a blender.  *Rinse chilies and can of adobo sauce with coke to get all the adobo sauce off, see picture below.  Blend in blender until well mixed.  Place pork in crock pot and pour  sauce over it.  Cook for 4-6 hours on high or 7-9 hours on low.

Carefully turn roast over halfway through.  Cook in sauce until it is pull apart tender and shred.  Put shredded meat bak into sauce.  Serve over rice, on  salad or in a tortilla.

Creamy Cilantro Salad Dressing (Cafe Rio Copy Cat)

Ingredients:

1 envelope buttermilk ranch dressing

1 cup mayo (use real mayonnaise, miracle whip changes the taste)

1 cup milk

1/2 bunch cilantro

2 tomatillos

1/2 serrano pepper with seeds removed

Blend in blender, let sit to thicken.  Dressing continues to get hotter when it is stored in the fridge. 

I found a comparable cilantro dressing because sometimes the store is out of tomatillos and/or Serrano peppers.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

3 tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup mayonnaise (Greek yogurt or sour cream also work)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup salsa verde

1/2 jalapeño, (remove seeds for mild heat)

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

2. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving to let it thicken.

3. Drizzle over salads, tacos, or use as a dipping sauce for taquitos.

Yummy Rice (Cafe Rio Copy Cat)

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
2 cups water
3 cubes chicken boullion
1/2 tsp dired onion
1/4 bunch cilantro
1 tbsp oil
1 fresh lime

Cook rice with all ingredients in pot or rice cooker except lime.

Squeeze fresh lime juice over rice and mix lightly before serving.

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients: 

-9 cups Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Chocolate Chex or Peanut Butter Chex cereal (or combination)

-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

-1/2 cup peanut butter

-1/4 cup butter

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Into Large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir.  Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar.  Seal bag; shake until well coated.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cubed
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 can (12 ounces) regular cola or Pepsi
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 envelopes country gravy mix
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
Hot cooked noodles or rice

1.  In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the first nine ingredients.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until beef is tender.

2.  With a slotted spoon, remove beef and mushrooms.  Place gravy mix in a large saucepan; gradually whisk in cooking liquid.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream.  Add beef and mushrooms to the gravy.  Serve over noodles (or rice).

GF Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups butterscotch chips
1 bag (about 4 cups) GF pretzels, broken into smaller pieces

Instructions:
Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in microwave, 15 seconds increments stirring chips between, until melted.  Stir in broken pretzels, keep stirring until evenly coated.
Drop rounded spoon fulls of on wax or parchment paper covered pans.  refrigerator until harden.

Banana Ice Box

Knocked my husbands socks off ;)

Ingredients: 

2 Packages Graham Crackers
3-4 Large Bananas sliced
1 Cup Milk
1 3.4 Oz Box French Vanilla Instant Pudding
4 Oz Cream Cheese Softened
½ of a 14 oz can Can of Sweetened Condensed milk
2 1/2 Cups Freshly Whipped Cream

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine the pudding and milk and set aside.
• In another bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, and then add the sweetened condensed milk and beat again until smooth.
• Add the pudding into the cream cheese mixture and stir until evenly combined.
• Add ⅓ of the whipped cream to the bowl, and gently fold it into everything.
• Add the remaining whipped cream and fold until completely combined.
• Adding a little at a time is keeping it lighter vs just whipping it all together.
• Lay a couple of graham crackers in an even layer at the bottom of a 9x13" dish.
• Cover with banana slices and a couple scoops of filling.
• Repeat layers until all of the filling is used, ending with filling on top.
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving, up to 1 day.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes
This is cream that has already been whipped into soft peaks. To get 2 1/2 cups you'll need 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form, add the powdered sugar and whip again until combined.

Credit: ohsweetbasil.com