Cafe Rio Chicken Salad

Like most born and breed Utahns I love Cafe Rio. Luckily my husband loves it too. We have loved the pork in the past but when pinterest gave me this recipe I thought I would try it out.

CAFE RIO CHICKENfound recipe at: Mandy’s Recipe Box:

2 lbs chicken breasts

1/2 a small bottle of zesty Italian dressing

1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR on Low 8 hours. Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, tacos…etc. You can also double or triple this to make extras for freezing. Then simply thaw and reheat for a fast and delicious meal.Enjoy

I got the dressing recipe from here

 Cafe Rio Style Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
(Makes about 2 1/2 cups of dressing, recipe adapted from a recipe for Cafe Rio Dressing, Chicken, and Rice that I got from my brother-in-law Kelly. See after the main recipe for variations I've tried.)

2 cups prepared Ranch Dressing (I usually use a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch buttermilk mix, but you can make your own Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing or Buttermilk Dressing if you prefer)
1 small bunch cilantro, large stems removed (about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro)
2 large or 4 small tomatillos
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 T fresh lime juice
1 tsp. Green Tabasco sauce or 1 diced jalapeno pepper

This dressing is so close to the recipe for the dressing I have found yet! I guess this will do until Cafe Rio decides to come to Indy...hint hint!

Mallory

Teriyaki Rice Bowls

So I had this addiction while in college. Everyday I would go to the cafeteria and since I was going to school at the local community college they had like 4 places to eat. My absolute favorite was Teriyaki Stix. I loved it! I would get the rice bowl with extra terkiyaki sauce...everyday! If you ever find yourself near a teriyaki stix in Utah I would recommend it. Well since I no longer live in Utah and we are trying to save for a house I have had to get creative. Tonight we tried to make our own teriyaki rice bowls and let me just say they were a success! Here is the recipe:

Teriyaki Sauce: (ok I have to admit this isn't my recipe I found it here). I love Our Best Bites! I got their recipe book last year and I have only made 1 recipe that didn't work out. I am embarrassed to say I tried it 3 times. But this teriyaki sauce is to die for!

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold water
½ c. white sugar
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. black pepper
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. We’ve talked about ginger before and you can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 tsp. of fresh ginger. Believe it or not, in this recipe, I actually prefer ground ginger; it has a slightly different flavor that I think infuses better in the sauce than fresh ginger. That being said, I used fresh here because I had a bunch of minced ginger in my freezer and I didn’t want it to go to waste. And the sauce came out great. So whatever works for you.

 Chicken:
3 Chicken Breasts
Teriyaki Sauce (enough to drizzle over chicken)

Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes or until done

Veggies:
Frozen Stir-Fry Veggies heated

Rice:
I prefer brown but use what your family will eat.

I then layered it brown rice, chicken and veggies.  It was not like what I use to eat in college but seeing as I was yet to be converted to veggies then it was better.

I am loving the possibilities of this recipe. I think it would be totally possible to put it in the crock-pot and it is super easy. I hope you can find an adaptation that works for your family!

Mallory