'Better-than-Cafe-Rio' Shredded Sweet Pork

Seriously, I'd eat this every day. #1, it's made in the crock pot. Minimal work. I like that. #2, it's delicious! Just as good, if not better than Cafe Rio if you ask me, or my brother, or my brother in-law, or my sister, or my step dad... they all agree. Plus, the dressing is HEAVEN. I LOVE cilantro! Added a little extra. :)

I borrowed this pic from online. Forgot to take a pic.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs pork (or chicken breasts) *
• 16 oz bottle of chunky salsa (I used Pace Medium)
• 1 can Coke (any soda. I've used coke, coke zero, Dr Pepper.. all are yummy!)
• 2 cups brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot and fill it 1/2 way up the pork with water. Cook on HIGH for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork in thirds. In blender/processor, mix salsa, sugar, and soda. (just enough so chunks are gone) Pour on top of pork. Cook additional 3 hours on HIGH. Shred pork with forks. Leave on low/warm until ready to serve.

*If doing chicken, cook in crock on LOW for 6 hours. Then drain water, pour sauce over chicken, and cook an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour. Shred chicken with forks.*


Dressing:

• 1 Package Hidden Valley Ranch
• 1 cup mayo 
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-4 Tablespoons of LaVictoria Green Taco Sauce 
• I like to add a little lime juice (opt)

Mix in a blender/food processor.


Serve it as a salad, or burrito, or just over rice! Either way, you can't go wrong. Mmmmmmm......

3 Ingredient Pork Chops

3 ingredients. Crock pot. That's it. Gotta love an easy dinner. And it was really good! Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

• Pork chops (can also use chicken)
• Packet of Ranch Dressing mix
• Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 Can of water or another can of C of C soup (I used water this time, and thought the sauce was a little too runny. I plan to use another can of soup next time.)

1. Put meat in crock pot.
2. Mix ingredients together and pour over meat.
3. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Another delicious and healthy meal from a Kitchen Kneads class.

 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard, divided
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 2 tsps canola oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup (real maple syrup)
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage, or 1/2 tsp dried sage

Directions:

• Preheat oven 425 degrees.
• Combine 1-2 Tbsp mustard and pepper in a small bowl; rub all over pork. 

• Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and brown on all sides, 3-5 min. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until meat thermometer registers 145 deg (about 20 minutes). (should still be a lil pink in middle)
• Transfer to cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes.
• Place the skillet over med-high heat, add vinegar, and boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, about 30 seconds. Whisk in maple syrup and the remaining 2 Tbsp mustard; bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. (I doubled the sauce since I had 2)
• Slice the pork. Add any accumulated juices to the sauce along with the sage. Serve the pork topped with the sauce.

 Nutrition facts: 225 calories, 7 g fat (2 g sat), 9 g carb, 28 g protein, 0 g fiber

Sweet Barbacoa Pork

This one is for all you Costa Vida/Cafe Rio lovers! But unlike their 1300 calorie sweet pork salads... this one is only 202 calories per serving! (for just the meat part.) Gotta love that! This is from skinnytaste.com

 We made it into burritos and/or salads. Delicious!

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 2.5 lbs pork loin roast, all fat trimmed
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• 6 oz Coke zero
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (unpacked)
• 1/4 cup water

Step 2

• 8 oz Coke zero
• 6 oz can sliced green chilies
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (unpacked)

Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in the crock pot. Add 6 oz of coke and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinate refrigerated for a few hours or overnight turning meat at least once while marinating.

Remove crock from refrigerator, add water, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily). Remove pork from crock pot and discard any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork with two forks.

Step two: In the crock pot, combine 8 oz coke, green chilies, tomato sauce, chipotle chile, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder and remaining brown sugar.

Put shredded pork back in the crock pot and combine with sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook on high 1-1/2 hours more.

 

Just for the MEAT mix:

Servings: about 10 • Serving Size: 3 oz •
Calories: 202.5 • Fat: 6.3 g • Protein: 26.2 g • Carb: 11.5 g • Fiber: 0.6 g