Cafe Rio Cheater Salad

I wasn't originally setting out to make Cafe Rio salad this past week. I was originally making this Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken recipe, but when I mixed most of the ingredients in the crock pot, it smelled exactly like Cafe Rio, so I said, why not? I added a few ingredients, and voila! You have the cheater salad. It was magically delicious. (Oh wait, that's Lucky Charms...)

Café Rio Cheater Salad
2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 onion, chopped in large chunks
1 pkg taco seasoning

Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour everything over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours. Remove chicken and shred.

To serve: Place a tortilla in the bottom of a large bowl. (I use the fresh, uncooked tortillas. Just throw each one on the skillet for a couple of minutes. Top with a generous portion of lettuce. Put a scoop or more of the mixture on the lettuce. Add some rice. Add tortilla strips, sour cream, guacamole, and Café Rio’s ranch dressing to serve.

Café Rio Creamy House Dressing
1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 c mayonnaise
1 c chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatillos – peeled and chopped
1/3 c buttermilk *I substitute this with ‘sour milk’= 1/3 cup milk with 1 T lemon juice. *I also used 1 cup to make it more runny
½ t cayenne pepper
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

And if you are like me and love the pork at Cafe Rio and want to make the "real deal," here is the pork recipe:


Cafe Rio Pork
7-8 lbs. pork roast (Do a 3-4 lb pork roast if you are just doing your family)
4 cups root beer
5 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
4 T molasses or honey
3 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. salt
2 - 3 cups brown sugar
pepper to taste
4 tsp. cumin

Recipe Note: The above sauce makes a ton! So if you have a 3-4 lb pork roast, half the sauce.

Salt and pepper roast and cook in crock pot 8 hours or overnight on low in water. In the morning remove the roast from the crockpot and pull apart with fork, removing fat. Drain all the water in the crockpot. Don't overshred the pork or it will turn mushy. Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and add shredded pork. Cook another 4 hours in crockpot on low.