Dinner Time - Cafe Rio Style!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, by Leigh Anne

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This past weekend Jim and I flew to Utah to see our two sweet college boys - Logan and Clark. Of course the best part of a visit to Utah is spending time with my two boys, but the second best part is getting to eat at Cafe Rio! Cafe Rio is a local mexican chain and no trip to Utah is complete without at least ONE trip to Cafe Rio (many times there is more than one visit!)

One of my favorite things to order at Cafe Rio is the sweet pork burrito, so you can imagine my delight when a friend shared with me a “copycat” recipe for Cafe Rio’s sweet pork, their green chile rice and the yummy cilantro salad dressing! Now I can get a Cafe Rio fix right at home. The great thing about the sweet pork recipe is that it is cooked in the crock pot so it makes a quick and easy dinner to prepare! The other good news is a “knock-off” Cafe Rio has opened in Hillsboro - it is called Costa Vida and it is a close second to Cafe Rio but if you don’t live anywhere near Hillsboro, Oregon or a Cafe Rio you are going to want to give these recipes a try!

Being the proud mama that I am, I also have to share some pictures with you of our trip to see Logan and Clark. While we were there we were able to see the opening night of Logan’s Young Ambassador show. The pictures were taken at the end of the show - the last number in the show is from the musical “Tarzan” and Logan sings and dances dressed up as a monkey in that number (thus the funny outfit and bad hair!) One of Logan’s solos is from the show “Newsies” - he sings the song “Seize the Day”. It is so fun to sit in an audience and hear an auditorium of girls screaming and clapping for your son!

I hope you enjoy dinner Cafe Rio Style as much as I do!

Sweet Pork

1-2 lb. pork tenderloin (I have used inexpensive pork carnitas also - available at Winco)

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups fresh salsa

Mix sugar and salsa, pour over pork. Cook in crock pot for 8 hrs. on low. When done shred with two forks and return to juice in crock pot and allow liquid to absorb. Serve with tortillas and all the fixins!

Green Chile Rice (Serves 6)

1 cup rice

2 cups chicken broth

4 oz. green chiles

1 sm. onion, diced

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1-2 tsp. cumin

3 green onions.

Mix together and pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until rice is done at 350.

Cilantro Salad Dressing (This gets rave reviews everytime I serve it)