Cafe Rio Copycat

Cafe Rio is one of my fav paces to go out to eat, but they don't have them many places and its always my luck that we never live near one, so after seeing these copy cat recipes on Pinterest I had to try to recreate it. It turned out pretty well but I do have a couple of things I will do differently next time I make it. I think I will do pork (recipe found here) instead of chicken, we will have to use romaine instead of iceberg, and I will make homemade tortillas instead of store bought. Now you can put any toppings you choose, but fyi we served it with tortilla, rice, black beans, lettuce, corn cheese, and sour cream. If your a fan like me this is a life saver.

  

Cafe Rio Chicken

2 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 a small bottle of zesty Italian dressing
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR on Low 8 hours.
Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, tacos…etc.

You can also double or triple this to make extras for freezing. Then simply thaw and reheat for a fast and delicious meal.

 Don't get me wrong the chicken was just fine, but I always order the pork when I go to the restaurant so that is the reason I would try to pork next time.

Cafe Rio's Cilantro ranch Dressing

• 1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
• 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
• 
  
• Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

I did this one a little different. I didn't use the ranch packet or mayo or buttermilk. I just used about a cup of the ranch dressing I had in the fridge. I also only used about half of the jalapeno. After eating the salad we would have put more lime juice in as well. 

In addition to these I made my own salsa. This was fun and I had never made salsa before (though I've watched my mom many times). 

Tracy's first Salsa

2 tomatoes finely chopped

1/2 jalapeno minced

4 T. onion minced

2 large garlic cloves minced

1 T. cilantro minced

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Done!

Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad

This is my new food obsession. It is so tasty and easy to make. We had it tonight and thought I would share it with you.

Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoon(s) grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 4 tablespoon(s) olive oil
•  Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-in.-thick wedges
• 2  thick slices country bread
• 4  (6-oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small head romaine, sliced crosswise into 1/2-in.-wide strips (about 8 cups)

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, Parmesan, 2 Tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Brush the onion with 1 Tbsp oil and season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Brush the bread with 2 tsp oil. Brush the chicken with the remaining 1 tsp oil and season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper.
3. Grill the chicken and onions until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Grill the bread until toasted and slightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
4. Cut the bread into 1-in. pieces. Toss the romaine, onions and bread with the dressing. Serve with the chicken (sliced, if desired) and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.