Sweet Pork Salad (Cafe Rio Like)

This salad tastes just like the Cafe Rio Pulled Pork Salad. Not exactly easy to throw together ina hurry, but definitely worth the effort.

SWEET PORK SALAD

1 pork boneless pork loin (you can even use chicken breasts)
1 can jalapeno salsa; El Pato brand. Add 2 cans if you like more on the spicy side than the sweet side. It can be found in the Latino section at Wal-Mart
2 cups brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon. pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic salt

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours. After 4 hours cut the roast into 3-4 sections and let it cook for another hour. After one hour you can begin to shred the pork in the slow cooker. It will be tough and so you just want to start to break it up. You'll still have large pieces of pork. Keep coming back every hour or so and you can break it down even more. I did this about 3 times and after the 7 hour mark hit, the pork was moist enough it just kind of fell apart. Depending on how much juice you have, you can leave the lid off at the end to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 t. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 c. water
1 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 t. sugar
3 T fresh chopped cilantro

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


BLACK BEANS

2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 t. salt
2 T fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.


CILANTRO RANCH

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 (if you want it spicy-leave in the seeds. If you want it mild, REMOVE all seeds.)

Mix all ingredients together in the a blender.


You can buy the tortilla strips by the bag. The only place I have been able to find them is at Smith's. You can also add mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. Yummy!!