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!

Cream Cheese Chicken

Credit: Amber Wardell

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed
• 1 packet Food Seasons Italian dressing mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• Frozen broccoli {regular or steam-able}
• Rice
  

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
   
2. Layer on top in this order: cubed cream cheese, 1/2 Italian dressing packet, cream of chicken soup, 1/2 Italian dressing packet.
3. Cover and cook 3-4 hours on low heat, mixing sauce about 2 hours into it {you'll be fine if you can't mix it around 2 hours into it... just go ahead and leave it cooking}. Before serving, divide chicken into smaller pieces and add broccoli.
4. Prepare rice and eat!!

Note: If you add broccoli, you can use the frozen kind by putting it in an hour before you're ready to eat. If you get the steam-able broccoli, just follow the directions on the package and mix in the steamed broccoli before serving.

Chicken Tacos

Credit: Amber Wardell

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 cups salsa of choice
• Toppings {cheese, sour cream, etc.}
  

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Mix salsa and taco seasoning together and pour over chicken to cover.
3. Replace lid on crock pot and cook on low 4 hours. Check to see if you need to add any water during cooking.
4. Shred chicken and serve with flour tortillas {I prefer to buy the uncooked tortillas from Sam's or Costco and probably will for the rest of my life!} and any other toppings you'd like... cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, etc.
   

Shredded Beef for Tacos

Credit: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (4 pound) frozen rump roast
• 1 cup chicken broth/stock
• 2 (7.75 ounce) cans Mexican style hot tomato sauce (I used El Pato)
• 3 tablespoons crushed garlic
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Place the frozen roast in the slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth and Mexican style hot tomato sauce over the top. Season with garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Cover, and cook on Low for 9 hours. When done, the roast should shred easily with a fork. Shred the roast into the juices, and mix in the chopped green onions and cilantro.

Makes 10 servings. (I used 1 lb. of brisket instead and cut the recipe to 1/4 and it turned out great! Or you could have lots of yummy leftovers.)