My friend Deanna requested that I post my recipe for a certain restaurant knock-off that I like to make – it’s my favorite restaurant in Utah. They make these two killer dishes with a sweet Pork Barbacoa that I LOVE – a salad and enchiladas. This is a pretty intense “recipe”. I end up cooking for hours and we eat it for days afterwards. This recipe includes the Pork Barbacoa, Cilantro Lime Rice, Ranchero Black Beans, Guacamole, Creamy Cilantro Dressing and Pico de Gallo. Everything else I’ll tell you how to assemble for some real Café Reba authenticity. (Café Reba is kind of an oxymoron since it’s a knock off of Café Rio.) Plan on using lots of garlic, cilantro, lime juice, green taco sauce and onions for this one. I usually get 6 limes for the entire recipe and you will also use 2 whole bunches of cilantro by the time you’ve cooked everything. I’m posting it today and will post a pic for it someday soon!
Pork Barbacoa:
You’ll need approximately 2-3 pounds of pork roast. I’ve used all kinds of pork roast for this. I’ve actually used pork short ribs on sale as well. It’s really the way you cook it that makes the difference. First, brown your roast in a frying pan with a few teaspoons of vegetable oil.
Put the roast in your pan, crock pot or pressure cooker. Then you will need the following. Don’t just dump this in!! Read the directions first’.
1 small can Adobo Peppers, approximately 7 ounces
1 bottle of Dr. Pepper, NOT the diet or 10 calorie kind, 12-16 oz.
1 cup of Green Taco Sauce
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 Tsp minced fresh garlic
1 Tsp Dry Mustard
1 Tsp Cumin
To make the Barbacoa sauce, get a medium bowl and a mesh strainer or colander. Empty the Adobo Peppers into the colander/strainer let let the sauce drain into the bowl. Take the Dr. Pepper and wash the peppers and the rest of the sauce into the bowl. I suppose you could substitute coke if you want but I think it’s way better with Dr. Pepper. Take 1-3 peppers and place them into the sauce. Discard the rest, unless you want to spice up something else. 1 pepper provides great flavor. 2 peppers will be a bit spicy or necessary if you have more pork. 3 peppers is pretty spicy. I’ve never done 4. My kids cried at three so I knew that 2 was the limit. Mix the rest of the taco sauce, sugar and garlic and spices into the sauce. Add the necessary You may need to add an extra amount of water for your cooking method (1 cup for pressure cooker, 1/4 cup for oven or slow cooker).
I cook mine for 1.5 hours in my pressure cooker at 15 lbs, (with an additional 1/2 cup of water). If you do not have a pressure cooker, you will either need to roast it in the oven on low (it will need 4-6 hours in the oven at 250 degrees) or place in a slow cooker for about the same (4-6 hours on low). You may need to add a fourth of a cup of water to both of these methods so that your roast doesn’t dry out. Check it regularly. When your meat is ready, meaning fall-off-the-bone tender or close to it, take it out and shred it. Discard fat and/or bones. Pour some of the juices over the pork to keep very moist. It should have enough juices that it drips when you take a fork-full of meat from the dish. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Cilantro-Lime Rice:
2 cups Long Grain Rice
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Fresh Minced Garlic
1 Medium Onion, diced
3-4 Tbsp minced fresh Cilantro
3 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Lime Juice
1/8 cup White Wine, optional
Zest of one lime, optional
In a large saucepan heat the olive oil at a medium setting. Saute the onion, garlic AND the rice until the rice is partly golden and partly white. The onions should be soft and starting to caramelize. If the bottom of your pan is crusty and brown, you may want to add the white wine at this point to de-glaze your pan so that those brown bits are incorporated into your rice. It will also make clean-up much easier. 
Add the Cilantro, Chicken Broth and Lime juice and zest. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer on very low until rice is tender. (15-20 min depending on your stove top’s “very low”). Let cool for 10-15 minutes and then fluff before serving. This should also be kept warm until serving.
Black Beans:
I cook mine from scratch because it’s dirt cheap that way and I think they taste better.
2 cups Dry Black Beans
1 medium onion
1/2 cup Green Taco Sauce
2 Tbsp Minced fresh Cilantro
1 Tbsp Minced fresh Garlic
Soak the beans over-night. Drain and discard all the water. Rinse beans. Just a little note here. Did you know that some people’s digestive systems can be very irritated by beans. Duh, right? Well part of this is because soaking your beans helps break down proteins, tannins, and glutens that are all hard to digest. So pre-soak your beans. It makes them more nutritious and easier to digest. Just in case you wanted to know more: http://www.healthbeyondhype.com/the-hidden-dangers-in-your-whole-grains-beans-nuts-and-seeds-ezp-138.html I am a huge fan of cooking beans from scratch instead of buying them canned. They are so much better tasting, healthier and cheaper! Try it and you may never go back to buying canned beans again.
In a pot, put 4 cups of water, onion garlic and cilantro. Cook your pre-soaked beans at a simmer until tender, This will take 1-1.5 hours or so. When they are tender, drain the liquid off and add the Taco Sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
Pico de Gallo:
4 ripe Roma Tomatoes, seeds and membranes removed and discarded, finely chopped
1/2 Sweet Yellow onion
3 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
1 Jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed, unless you actually want it super hot
1 Tbsp Lime or lemon juice
1 Tsp Olive Oil
Place the onion, cilantro and jalapeno into a food processor. Use your chopping setting to mince these ingredients finely. Mix with tomatoes, toss with lemon juice and oil. Add a dash of salt.
Guacamole:
Being an actual Mexican this is kind of hard for me. I make Guac all the time. However, I’ve never written down the recipe. I just dump the same stuff in. It usually tastes the same unless I let my daughter make it and then it tastes really sour 
because she adds tons of lemon juice. I can’t let her make anything with lemon or vinegar because she’ll just double it and wonder why everyone else hates it. Anyway, I’ve never actually measured anything. I just have a bag of corn chips handy to taste it. This one may need revising. Next time I make it, I’ll try following my own recipe and see if it works…
Here’s my best guess…
5-6 ripe avocadoes, roughly mashed
2 Tsp Lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Granulated Onion
1 Tsp Chile Powder
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1 ripe Roma Tomato, seeds discarded, finely chopped
If I have some leftover SWEET onion, I add a minced 1/4 cup, optional
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh Cilantro, optional. I rarely add anymore because my husband loves guac, hates cilantro. You have to make some sacrifices for love.
Dressing:
1 pkg Ranch Dressing Mix
1/3 cup Salsa Verde
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Buttermilk
1-2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp Cayenne, you can increase to 1/4 tsp if you want it hotter
Juice from 1 lime
1 bunch Cilantro, stems trimmed and discarded
1 Tbsp Green Tabasco Sauce
1/8-1/4 cup Cotija Cheese
Add all ingredients to a blender, puree until smooth and green. Make sure that the Cilantro now looks like tiny green dots with a light green background, you don’t want big chunks floating around. Chill until ready to serve. The Cotija Cheese helps to improve the texture and prevent the runny-ness that I have found with some other Creamy Cilantro Dressing recipes out there. If you find your dressing is still a bit runny, increase the Queso Cotija from 1/8 to 1/4 cup.
Salad:
Assemble in this order
Large Burrito size flour tortillas, place on warm flat pan, melt 1/4 cup Mexican Cheese blend over the top of tortilla
1/3 cup Cilantro-Lime Rice
1/3 cup Ranchero Black Beans
1/3 cup Pork Barbacoa
1 heaping cup Shredded Romaine Lettuce
1/8~1/4 cup Pico de Gallo
1 small scoop Guacamole, on the edge
1 Tbsp Crumbled Cotija Cheese
Lime wedge, next to the guacamole (presentation is everything, people)
Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips
Several stems of Cilantro
Drizzled with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Provecho!!
Pretty much my personal favorite dish of all time. Cotija cheese you can usually find in stores in the Hispanic refrigerated foods section. Crumble it in a food processor, then freeze what you don’t use. It’s similar in taste/texture to Parmesan and will freeze really well. Tortilla strips I’ve found in several stores near the Produce section with nuts and croutons and other salad garnishments. Sometimes we slum it and just crumble cheap yellow corn tortilla chips onto the salad. Not as pretty, but it tastes the same. Also, if there are any chips anywhere, we have to double the Guacamole recipe. Plan on one lime for every 4-5 people to garnish, squeeze over your salad for the perfect touch of sour.
Enchiladas:
If you make these, please, for the love, do NOT use those cheap corn tortillas. They are C.R.A.P. It’s like wonder-bread for white people. A terrible but cheap substitute for something you would eat on a daily basis (if you were Mexican, that is). Spend the extra few dollars and buy some expensive ones that they sell at Kroger stores in packages of 1/2 dozen. You will be 1000X more likely to eat a package of 6 high quality corn tortillas than a cheap package of 24. The only thing the cheap ones are good for is Migitas. I’ll have to post that recipe soon. Someday, I’ll also post a recipe of how you can make your own super high quality, fresh and delicious corn tortillas that taste about a million times better than the cheap corn tortillas. However, the ones they sell refrigerated at my local Fred Meyer are pretty comparable to home-made.
You will need:
Corn tortillas
Salsa Verde, Enchilada sauce or your favorite salsa
Queso Blanco, or use shredded Monterey Jack or a Mexican Blend
Queso Fresco or Cotija, optional
Queso Cremoso, or sour cream, optional
Place 1/4 cup of Pork Barbacoa on each corn tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup of Queso Blanco or shredded Mexican blend cheese, and several tablespoons of Salsa Verde (or substitute). *Note- Queso Blanco is a Mexican white shredded melt-able cheese that is similar to Monterey Jack Cheese Roll up and smother in Salsa Verde (or your substitute), sprinkle generously with Queso Blanco or Mexican Cheese blend, garnish with Cotija or Queso Fresco. Heat under oven set at 450 degrees for about 7-10 minute, or until cheeses are melted in the middle. Drizzle with queso cremoso or sour cream if desired. Serve with Cilantro-Lime Rice, Ranchero Black Beans and Pico de Gallo.
3sisters1cookbook 