Sara's Cafe Rio Night of Cooking!

Okay, so I owe all of this to Jolyne.. and I blame her too! For the past 3 days, I have LIVED off of leftovers from my day of cooking a Cafe Rio style meal.


LIME-CILANTRO RICE ( THE BEST RICE EVER! )
2 Tbsp. oil
4 c. long grain rice (6 c. water)
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes ( I used 3 .. I like lime)
2 tsp. crushed garlic
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add rice, cilantro, and garlic. Saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water and lime juice and bring to boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (about 20 minutes). You can also use a rice cooker if you have one.

[ CREAMY TOMATILLA SALAD DRESSING ]- SO tasty and perfect!!
1 packet hidden valley ranch buttermilk dressing
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayo or sour cream
2-3 tomatillas (peel off outer leaf/shell)
1 tsp. crushed garlic
¾ bunch fresh cilantro ( I put in a whole bunch instead of 3/4)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
juice from 1 lime (about 2 tsp.)
salt & pepper
Blend all ingredients in the blender. Refrigerate.

HEALTHY - Beans

·  1 cup pinto beans ( or kidney beans/black beans ) or use canned beans

·  1 red onion,chopped

·  2-3 garlic cloves, minced (or as per your taste)

·  1 tomato,chopped

·  1 bay leaf

·  1-2 green pablano chilles/green chillies, sliced thinly (or as per taste)

·  salt to taste

·  few cilantro sprigs for garnish

Soak the pinto beans overnight.

You can either cook until beans are soft or to simplify things, cook till mush too. It doesn’t really matter in this case if overcooked since you are ultimately going to mash it anyways while cooking. If you have cooking liquid – keep it, you can use it later if you feel that your beans are too thick in consistency. Or you can use water too. Meanwhile, in a skillet add 1/4 tsp of corn oil (or any vegetable oil), add bay leaf, garlic, onions and some salt, Saute them until onions are soft and aromatic. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 min until tomatoes get soft. Add the cooked pinto beans, give it a stir to 


Meat-This is my own recipe


1 chuck roast
2tsp beef bullion
1 small can roasted green chilis
1tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1tsp season salt
4 cups water
Throw it all in a crock pot and cook on low for 8+ hours. It will fall apart beautifully! 


After everything is cooked-and it will take a lot of time... cook tortillas until crispy, put the tortilla on a plate, add beans, rice, meat and top with salad and dressing.. enjoy and live off of leftovers (and there will be a lot) SO YUMMY