Cafe Rio Pork

This is the best homemade Cafe Rio I've had.  The recipe I used to use was just cooking it in a crock pot with brown sugar and soda I think. This one is marinated, then cooked in coke and water, and finished with more of a "sauce" I guess you could say. 


Recipe from here:  https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/cafe-rio-sweet-pork/

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)  --- I used like 4lb sirloin roast.
• 3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• dash garlic salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
• 1 c. brown sugar

Instructions

• Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. (I used a bigger roast, so I put it in a bowl and poured Coke in until it was covered.)
• Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
• In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
• Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

We made salads and tacos.  I discovered uncooked CORN tortillas last year and use them all the time.  I don't usually like dry, fall apart easily regular ones, but these are to die for! So much better than even the flour ones.  http://www.tortillaland.com/tortillas/corn-tortillas 

I use this recipe for dressing: http://ourbestbites.com/2009/03/creamy-lime-cilantro-dressing/ 
This last time I didn't have green salsa on hand, so I left it out and it's still a decent version.

Foil Packet Sweet Potato Tacos

Think tinfoil dinners gone taco. But with sweet potatoes. These were super good. Pretty quick and pretty healthy (before the cheese). Loved them. Rob wants me to make them for his next campout. 

Foil Packet Sweet Potato Tacos

YIELD: MAKES 6-8 FOIL PACKETS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds ground turkey or beef (I used beef)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, membranes removed and finely chopped (keep seeds for more heat, if desired) (I skipped this, still good)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach (or more)
• 2 cans (15-ounces each) beans (black, pinto, white), rinsed and drained (I used black)
• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped small (1/2-inch pieces)
• Garnishes: shredded cheese, sour cream, avocados or guacamole, salsa, olives, cilantro I added frozen corn, a few tortilla chips,  and Rob liked hot sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 
2. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the ground meat, salt, pepper, and onion. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through. Drain any excess grease.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, tomato sauce and jalapeño (if using). Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the water, spinach and beans and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
4. Lightly grease the center of 6-8 foil pieces, each about 12-inches long. 
5. Place about 1 cup of sweet potato chunks in the center of each piece of foil arranging them into somewhat of a single layer; sprinkle with salt and pepper (don't skip this step!). Add a heaping 1/2 cup or so of the meat mixture on top. Bring the long sides of foil together over the filling and fold tightly down. Fold and crimp each edge until tightly sealed and a little packet is formed. Repeat with all the pieces of foil and ingredients.
6. Place the foil packets in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender. 
7. Carefully open the foil packets and serve with taco toppings and garnishes of your choice.

Sweet and Spicy Pork and Pineapple Tacos

Another super easy recipe.  These weren't Jeff's favorite, but I really loved them.  First for the flavor, but second for how easy they are to prepare.

I made them on an afternoon we had soccer and swim and would be out of the house almost the entire afternoon.  I prepped the meat and spices and pineapple, so when we got home I just had to cook them.  It was really quick and easy.  The pork is really killer in this recipe, it's so tender.   I didn't add any toppings to them and I think they were perfect.  I considered pico, but I think the tomato would be weird with the pineapple.

• Ingredients:
• 2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (more to taste, if wanted)
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 2-3 cups diced pineapple (see note above)
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Corn or flour tortillas for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the pork pieces and add them to the hot skillet, browning on each side until golden (the pork doesn't need to cook all the way through in this step, just get a nice color on all the pieces). 
2. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder and cayenne and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the juice and pineapple and simmer the mixture until the pork is cooked through, 7-9 minutes. 
3. Stir in the cilantro. Serve with corn or flour tortillas.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Grilled Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos.  I love them.  If they are on a menu at a Mexican Restaurant, I always get them, these are pretty darn good, and probably my favorite homemade to date.

Recipe found here.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:  (This is a Cafe Rio Copy cat (not the creamy dressing))
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 juicy limes)
1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic (I used one clove and didn't blend it.  I just cut it into fourths and added it to the dressing, so you get a really mild garlic flavor.  I really don't like strong raw garlic flavor)
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed

In the jar of your blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Blend until ingredients are completely combined. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add cilantro and blend until the cilantro has broken down but still maintains some of its texture. Serve with greens, on any type of Mexican salad, or use as a marinade.

For the tacos, I marinated 4 Tilapia Filets for 20minutes in the vinaigrette.  Grilled (on a piece of tin foil so it wouldn't fall through the grates when flipped)  for about 5 minutes.  

Shred cabbage (purple or green) and toss with more of the marinade.  Fish tacos are incomplete without cabbage.  Serve on Corn tortilla.

Additional toppings you might like:

pico de gallo (whatever you like)
avocado
mango
cotija cheese

Potato Tacos

*I know you probably already have this recipe, but I just posted it on the other food blog I do with my gal friends, so what the heck. It's a Sorensen original. (I think...it reminds me of mom anyway, and I have never seen it anywhere else in the world)

lb ground beef
1 onion diced
1-2 baking potatoes
1 tsp seasoned pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt

1 tsp garlic powder 

Brown the meat. Halfway through, add the diced onion. Allow these to cook together while you work on the potatoes.
Peal and cut your potato into chunks. Boil until nice and tender.
Drain the meat.
Drain the potatoes.
Combine the meat and potatoes.
Add seasoned pepper (it's a real spice found in the spice isle) and seasoned salt and garlic powder. 

I love serving them in corn tortillas that have been crisped up on the stove. I top it with queso fresco, but of course you can add any of your regular taco toppings.

Here is a visual of what your potato taco guts will look like:

fish tacos

we also like fish tacos (using the frozen tilapia from costco).  I use this recipe