{MONDAY'S MENU} Cafe Rio Pork

For those of you that LOVE Cafe Rio as much as I do....YOU WILL LOVE THIS! For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to know and LOVE Cafe Rio...TRY THIS! YOU WILL LOVE IT!

This takes about 18 hours to cook. It MUST be cooked for that long and on low heat. I know CRAZY! BUT it's cooked in a crock pot. Start it at about 10pm the night before you will eat it and you will be good to go! TOTALLY EASY!

I have tried a couple of recipes that swear it is just like Cafe Rio. This really IS Cafe Rio Pork. It is unbelievable! Let's get to it!

CAFE RIO PORK

OK, so now we know...Raw Meat pictures are GUH-ROSS!

Start with a 5-6 lb. Boneless Pork Roast. Put it in your Crock Pot and then add water until it comes half way up the roast. Lift the roast to make sure the water gets under it.

Cover and cook for 12 hours!

Again...NOT APPETIZING! Darn these pictures!

Place a colander in a larger bowl. Dump the roast and the juices into the colander. Lift the colander. All of the Juices will drain into the bowl below.

Place the meat back into the crock pot.

I usually run the juices that came off the meat through a sifter. This helps you get JUST the liquid. Put that liquid into the fridge. The fat will rise to the top and then harden. You can skim it off later. After the fat is removed, if you are making burritos, heat the juices over medium-high heat. Add a little corn starch to thicken. Then stir in a BIG can of Green Enchilada Sauce. This makes your "Mild" sauce. YUM!

Now, back to our roast. With just the meat in the pot you want to pour one entire bottle of Red Taco Sauce over the meat. Add one Tablespoon of Cumin. Don't get too much cumin. If you are going to do anything use less. NOT MORE!

Now add 1 c. packed Brown sugar. This is a key ingredient. Don't skimp!


Now, I know some of you have heard Dr. Pepper. I have tried it. It is good, but COKE is what you will need to get the real stuff. Pour in (1) 20 oz bottle of Coke.


Now it looks like this! Cover and cook for 4 more hours.

After 4 hours, it looks like this!

Pull the roast out using a large slotted spoon. It is going to fall apart. Make sure you get every last bit of it.

Using 2 forks shred all of the roast and then add it back into the juices in the pot. Cook for 2 more hours. If you are not ready to serve it at that time turn your crock pot down to "Keep Warm" or just continue to watch it on low. It should be just fine for a little longer.

I made this because Elder Timms, our favorite missionary in this area, is going home next week. He started his mission in this area and now he gets to end it here. I made "Cafe Rio", salad with dressing and burritos for him almost 2 years ago and he requested it for the other night. I aim to please! :)

I made the Cafe Rio Rice. You should be able to read that recipe on the post from yesterday. It is in my recipe book. Click on the picture if you need it to be larger.

To make the burritos preheat your oven to Broil. Move the rack up to just under the heat source. Warm a LARGE burrito size tortilla for 20 seconds in the microwave. Spoon some rice onto the tortilla, then spoon some cooked black or pinto beans (just dump a can of them into a saucepan and heat over medium). I use tongs to place the meat on the burrito. You don't want it to have too much of the juice with it. Load it up! This is the best part! Now spoon some of your "Mild" sauce over the top of the meat and sprinkle some grated Monterrey Jack Cheese on top of that.

Fold in the ends and then wrap the burrito. You will have to use your hands to push the insides in. There is a lot of stuff in there!

Now spoon more mild sauce over the top (Enchilada Style) and cover with more cheese.

Make sure that the plates you are using can stand the heat. I have just regular plates from Target and they did just fine. I placed 2 plates with a burrito on each on a cookie sheet and slid it in the oven on the top rack. Watch it so it doesn't burn. You want the cheese to melt a bit and then bubble just a tiny bit.

I wish I would have taken a picture of these. They were DEAD ON! They were so yummy! They were Cafe Rio sized and the missionaries had 2 each! :) They had all eaten at Cafe Rio, when they were in the MTC someone had brought it to them. They all agreed that it was the exact same! YAY!

It sounds pretty involved, but it is really easy! TRY IT! I also have the recipe for the dressing if you want that let me know in the comments! I will get it for you!

This is Elder Esporanza (staying here), Elder Timms (Middle) & Elder Stasell (Right).
Stasell & Timms go home this Tuesday! Elder Timms to Canada and Stasell to California.

We spent a bit of time talking about the things going on in the world. The things that Elder Stasell would see when he returned to California, the cunning of the Adversary. The need to strengthen our testimonies and the blessings of the gospel in our lives.

Usually when the missionaries come to dinner they always end with a scripture and a thought. This time they stood together and sang "If I Could High To Kolob" in Spanish. I wish you could have been here with us! I couldn't help but think about stories of the Prophet Elisha, in the Bible, and many others that went throughout the land teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The people that were blessed to welcome these teachers into their home I am sure felt what we felt as these servants of the Lord bore testimony through song! It was amazing!