Cafe Rio Knock-off Recipes

Inspired by dinner at my friend Julie's house, my Dad [and I] decided to make a Cafe Rio inspired meal for people coming over to watch the football game this weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with Cafe Rio think Costa Vida or Chipotle + enchiladas. It is found primarily in Utah and is part of Utah culture. In fact, Julie's friend described it as the best food on the Earth. Not sure if I agree with that bold statement but it is good. (Shannon don't worry I'm still completely loyal to Chipotle!! Cafe Rio just offers some things that Chipotle doesn't plus no one understands Chipotle up here the way you & I do!)

Now I definitely wouldn't consider any of these restaurants to be particularly "healthy" BUT the healthy thing about preparing them yourself is you know exactly what you are using or putting in the recipe. And the most important factor that earns a seat on The Healthy Bite is that I believe in everything in moderation and portion control!

These recipes can be used to make burritos, salads, or whatever you want!

Cafe Rio Style Pork
2 pound pork (recipe calls for pork butt or boneless pork ribs, I think pork loin would work just fine)
3 cans Coke
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (recipe did not say red or green, we used green)
1 cup brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziplock bag to marinade. Add a can and a half (18oz) of coke and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Marinate for a few hours or overnight.
Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can Coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily but is not 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 (6 oz), chilies, enchilada sauce, and remaining brown sugar (more or less to taste*)
Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours.

*I think Cafe Rio pork is too sweet. We actually doubled this recipe and I only used ~3/4 cup sugar in the final sauce so I would recommend being very conservative with the brown sugar at the end. The Coke adds lots of sweet.
-Other thoughts: this recipe specifically says not to use diet Coke but I've seen bloggers say diet works just fine...we used regular Coke but when I make this again I would try diet. Bloggers that used diet Coke also used the Splenda blend of brown sugar and said it came out fine too. Just a personal call on what you want to do!

Cafe Rio Style Chicken
1 (8oz) bottle of zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 lbs chicken breasts

Cook all together in a crock pot of 4 hours on low. Shred meat. Cook 1 additional hour

*Super easy & it was a crowd favorite

Cafe Rio Style Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
1 packet Traditional Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not buttermilk)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
2 large tomatillos (or 3 if they are small), roasted, husked, and diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime
1 small jalapeno (keep seeds and veins in for spicy, remove for a smaller kick)

Roast the tomatillos with the husk on in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then mix all the ingredients in the blender. Refrigerate for the flavors to mix.

*I could drink this it is so good! Yum!! Also a crowd favorite. They also make a delicious cilantro-lime vinaigrette which we didn't make but I'll have to try it some other time.
*I don't ever use/buy mayo so I couldn't tell you off the top of my head which mayo is the healthiest but READ YOUR FOOD LABELS. In mayo you're looking for the lowest saturated and trans fat without added sugar. Looking online it looked like Reg mayo had 90 calories, 1.5g sat fat, 0g sugar; Light mayo had 50 calories, 0.8g sat fat, 0.6g sugar; and Olive Oil mayo had 45 calories, 0g sat fat, and 0g sugar. Looks like Olive Oil mayo would be the healthiest choice but always check your food labels! Confused or have any questions - just ask me!

Cafe Rio Style Cilantro Lime Rice
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 tsp butter/margarine (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp + 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
pinch of sugar (optional)
3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp lime juice, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

*This rice (as with most homemade cilantro lime rice I've had) comes out sticky. I think the lime juice has a chemical reaction with the cooking of the rice. I think next time I might try to just add all the lime juice at the end although that might change the flavor. This rice was still delicious even though it was sticky! If you guys have any tricks or experience please share :)