Not Cafe Rio Pork... but very delicious!!

Credit: Lynn Muir

Ingredients:

• 1 pork roast, boneless, unseasoned
• 3 c salsa of choice (I've heard that mango salsa is great, but we just use Pace)
• 2 c brown sugar

Directions:

1. Place pork roast in the crockpot on LOW with the fatty side up.
2. Cover all of the meat with salsa and brown sugar. Note: This is not science, so go ahead and add more salsa or water if needed while cooking, and feel free to add more brown sugar toward the end to suit your taste buds. :) Place lid on crock pot. You will be cooking this for about 5-6 hours.
3. After 4 hours, flip the pork roast and spoon the salsa mixture back over the entire roast. Replace the lid.
4. When the pork is tender (another hour or two later), shred the pork with forks and stir it in with the juices. Let marinate in these juices for about 30 minutes before serving for maximum results.
5. Serve as burritos or salads Cafe Rio style! Yum!!

Perfect Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Credit: KevinandAmanda.com

Please allow yourselves ample time to prepare this meal. This is a wonderful dish for entertaining a very large crowd! Read the recipe thoroughly before deciding to make it. :)

Ingredients List 1: Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Ingredients List 2: Brine solution

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 quarts cold water
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp dry rub mix

Other Ingredient:

1 whole Boston butt pork roast

Directions:

1. Mix together all DRY RUB INGREDIENTS and store in an airtight container.
2. For the brine solution, use ingredients from the BRINE SOLUTION INGREDIENTS list. Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar, dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.
3. Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container. Pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
4. Remove pork shoulder from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, and place in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least a inch in length and width and at least 3 inches deep. *Note: you can also use a crock pot to cook the pork roast. Cooking time will be more around 8-12 hours and you may want to cook it on high for one or two hours of the cooking time and use the low setting for the rest. Just use common sense to convert this recipe to a crock pot, substituting "crock pot" for "baking pan," etc.
5. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides. Make sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking! Place baking pan uncovered in a 225 degree oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the center or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this). Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200 degrees.
6. When the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. When the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove from oven.
7. Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Pull apart with two forks, it will pull apart very easily. Serve with gourmet hamburger buns for a delicious and impressive meal to feed an army!

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Healthy, too!

Credit: Mariel Skinner

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain, unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture and oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips. Roll into balls. Bake for about 9-12 min. Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.