Cafe Rio Chicken Salad, Rice, & Tomatillo Dressing

(Picture from Google images)

Cafe Rio Chicken

1 small bottle or 1/2 regular bottle italian dressing

1/2 TBSP chili powder

1/2 TBSP cumin

2 cloves garlic

2 lbs chicken

Cook all together in a crock pot on low until chicken is done enough to shred (about 2 hours). Shred chicken and cook for another half hour.

Cafe Rio Rice

2 cups long grain rice

4 cups water

4 tsp chicken bullion

4 tsp garlic-minced

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 can green chiles-or equivalent fresh

3/4 tsp salt

1 TBSP butter

1/2 onion

Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion togther in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.

Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)

2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno (use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalepeno.

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.

We also heat up some black beans to put on the salad. We also bought the yummy green romaine lettuce to use for the lettuce part. For the tortillas I just bought burrito size flour tortillas and heated them on each side on a skillet then sprinkled them with cheese and put them on a cookie sheet and broiled them for about 2 minutes to melt the cheese. You can also have guacamole or pico de gallo to add to the salads. Enjoy!

Pasta Chicken Salad

By: Judy Duncan

2 large cans white chicken breast
3 1/2 cups cooked curly pasta (12 oz)
1 bag seedless grapes (red)
1, 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
small bag slivered almonds

Dressing:
1 pint sour cream
1 pint mayonnaise
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger

Mix all ingredients in large bowl and stir in dressing. Let sit in fridge for a few hours before serving. (Stir in almonds right before serving.)

Makes large bowl.

Summer Fruit Salad

2 pckgs. frozen fruit medley

2 bananas

1 can chunk pineapple

1 can mandarin oranges

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Place frozen fruit medley in a bowl, let sit out and thaw until mostly thawed out. Cut up bananas into bite size pieces. Add to fruit mixture. Drain pineapple and madarin oranges then add to fruit mixture. Pour can of sweetened condensed milk over top or fruit mixture and stir until mixed together. Chill and serve.

This makes a yummy summer fruit salad, that's easy enough it almost makes itself! Enjoy!

Sarah's Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce

3 strips bacon

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/2 of a 10 oz. pckg. frozen peas

1/4 c. salad dressing

1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese

2/3 c. chopped green onions

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. mayonnaise

Wash and drain lettuce. Dry thoroughly. Dice bacon and saute until crisp; drain on paper towels. Run hot water over frozen peas and drain. Tear lettuce into bite size pieces into salad bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper. Add peas, cheese, onion, mayo, and salad dressing. Cover tightly and refridgerate overnight. Chill. Toss when ready to serve and garnish with bacon. Makes 8 servings.

Pasta Salad

1 medium head of broccoli
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 tomatoes
Olives (optional, I never put these in) :-)
Pepperoni
1 bottle Italian salad dressing
Cheddar Cheese
Rotini pasta (I use the colorful one, I think its garden rotini)
Cook pasta until tender. While pasta is cooking, cut up veggies into bite size pieces. I also cut the pepperoni slices in half (so they are half circles.) Next cut up the cheese into little cubes, also bite size. When the pasta is cooled and drained, put into a medium to large bowl, add the veggies, separated pepperoni, and cheese. Mix well. Last, pour the bottle of Italian dressing over the top, make sure to mix it in well. Enjoy!