cafe rio sweet pork, yes ma'am!

if you want cafe rio every night, make this with the tomatillo dressing - it makes a lot! make your own salad with a tortilla (if you want it as close to the rio as possible, buy the uncooked tortillas from costco), black beans, and rice - and top it with cilantro, guac, sour cream, pico, and maybe some parmesan cheese. they could also be made into enchiladas and smothered with enchilada sauce and cheese and put in the oven. we like them as pork burritos too. mmm.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

* I usually make half of the recipe, and don't use nearly as much tomato sauce, I think it tastes better with less.

4 lb. pork roast (*2 lb.)
5 cans tomato sauce (*1 can)
3 tsp. garlic (*1 1/2 tsp.)
1 1/2 - 3 C brown sugar (*1 cup)
4 tsp. cumin (*2 tsp.)
4 C Dr. Pepper (*1 12-oz. can)
2-4 tsp. molasses (*2 tsp.)

Pour over roast in crock pot, cook on high 6-7 hours. Shred, cook shredded another hour.

psst - cafe rio dressing

this is it, people. the real deal. make, put on everything in sight, repeat.

(Cafe Rio) Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
1 pkg. buttermilk ranch mix
1 C mayo
1/2 C buttermilk
1 C fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
Juice of 1 lime
Cumin - couple of sprinkles
2-4 drops green Tabasco sauce
1-4 spoonfuls sugar

Combine in blender, refrigerate 1 hour. Makes 3 cups (a TON, so depending on your tomatillo dressing habits, cut the recipe in half, or DOUBLE it!).

spicy sausage pasta

this is jeff's favorite meal. he is obsessed. he wants it for all holidays and his birthday... and anniversary. anytime jeff really likes a new dish i make, he'll say something like, "it's in my top 5, but my number 1 is still the sausage pasta stuff." i didn't know if i'd like it when i first made it, but i love it too! if you like spicy (and not in a mexican or chinese food sort of way), you'll love it. super easy. *thanks to sis-in-law ashley for the recipe!

spicy sausage pasta

(aka bowtie pasta with sausage)

• 8 oz. dried bowtie pasta (i use rigatoni or penne instead)
• 3/4 lb. spicy Italian sausage links (i use "HOT" italian ground sausage instead, and i dump the whole 1 lb. onto the pan. jeff would cry if this recipe had any less sausage...)
• 2 medium green bell peppers, chopped into small pieces
• 1 can vegetable or beef broth (use beef.)
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Cook pasta according to package. Drain and return to pan. Meanwhile, cut sausage links into 1-inch pieces (*since i use ground meat instead of links, after the meat is thawed, we just dump it in the pan and break it up into small pieces as it browns). Cook sausage and sweet peppers in a large skillet over medium heat until meat is brown. Drain fat. Add broth and pepper to skillet. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 5 min. Remove from heat. Toss pasta with sausage mixture. (*i put the pasta directly into the large pan with the sausage mixture and let it hang out for a few minutes to eat up some of the broth for about 5-10 min.)

creamy vegetable soup

this is actually a recipe i got from one of my friends - i hope she doesn't mind that i am posting it online, but how could i resist - it's probably one of the best things i've ever eaten (remember, i am on a comfort-food theme). i first had it literally a year ago and recently discovered the recipe. obviously it's so good that i remembered the taste a whole year later and ended up craving it... i made it for a party a couple weeks ago and it was gone - scraped from the bottom of the pot. thanks, etta!

Creamy Vegetable Soup


1 large cauliflower, chopped
2 C. carrots, chopped
1/2 large brocolli, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 C. onions, chopped
4 C. chicken broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or 2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules)
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 stick butter
3/4 C. flour
1 quart half-and-half
8 oz. block cream cheese, softened

Put vegetables in large pot and cover with broth. Add bouillon and spices; cook until tender (I had them to boiling and reduced heat and let them cook for like 30 min.). Don't drain, set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt butter. Add flour. Slowly add half-and-half and cook, stirring constantly (this works best with a whisk) until thick. Add cream cheese (cut into chunks). Stir until cheese melts, then stir cream mixture over vegetables. Serve in bread bowls.

*This makes tons, so half it for a small family :) I like to put coarse ground pepper on top of my soup.

new england clam chowder

it's true, i am alive. and i have been making grub like crazy woman. since it's autumn (my FAVORITE time of the year), i've got a comfort-food theme of sorts going on. i came across this recipe i had for new england clam chowder and decided to try it. i think it was a success, seeing as my self-proclaimed shellfish/seafood-hating husband loved it! i apologize for the poor picture quality, i just realized my camera is out of batteries and i don't have any more. so... enjoy the pictures with bad lighting taken by the (not) fancy camera phone. (the next couple recipes were also documented with the phone.)

New England Clam Chowder

Start to Finish: 45 min. Makes 4 main-dish servings

-1 pint shucked clams or two 6.5 oz. cans minced clams (i bought the cans, didn't want to chop clams)

-2 slices of bacon, halved (i made 4 slices and ate one, so 3 slices)

-3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

-1 large onion, chopped

-1 tsp. instant chicken bouillon granules (or one bouillon cube)

-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

-1/4 tsp. dried thyme, ground

-1/8 tsp. black pepper

-2 cups milk

-1 cup half-and-half or light cream

-2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

1. I did things a little out-of order, but since I used minced-canned clams, I chopped up my veggies first.

2. Chop fresh clams (if using), reserving juice; set clams aside. Strain clam juice to remove bits of shell. (Or drain canned clams, reserving the juice.) If necessary, add enough water to the reserved clam juice to equal 1 cup. Set clam juice aside. **Instead of adding water to make 1 cup of "juice", I'd buy actual clam juice and use that, in order to keep from diluting the "clammy" taste.**

3. In large saucepan/pot cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. **I just left whatever was in there - didn't remove any drippings.** Crain bacon on paper towels; crumble bacon and set aside.

4. Stir the reserved clam juice, potato, onion, bouillon granules, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and pepper into saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. With the back of a fork, mash potatoes slightly against the side of the pan.

5. Stir together milk, half-and-half, and flour; add to potato mixture. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in clams. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Sprinkle each serving with crumbled bacon. **We ate our chowder with slices of sourdough bread and sprinkled coarse black pepper on top for zest. This is also good in a bread bowl!!**

grubby blogs

so i noticed i haven't updated this recipe blog in forever. since february... :( but i go through phases where all i want to do is cook and make new recipes and shop for ingredients and ahhhh go crazy. i'm entering into one of those phases again and i am all about trying new things. let me know if you have any favorite recipes, i'd love to try them!

but for now, this is a grubby (foodie) blog i found today that i really like. i'm going to try some of her recipes. go visit a whisk and a prayer and check her recipes out! and in the meantime, i'm going to make me some new recipes (or some old favorites) to post for you!

Italian-Style Calzones

Italian-Style Calzones

• 1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese


• 2 eggs


• 2 T. dried Italian seasoning


• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan


• 1 (1o oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry


• 1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen white bread dough (Rhoades Rolls work), or thawed or refrigerated pizza dough


• salt and pepper to taste


• optional ingredients: pepperoni, sausage, variety of vegetables

*note - this is not a gooey-cheesy calzone. it is made with ricotta, so if you want a meltly calzone, you'll need to figure out different cheeses you want to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, eggs, Italian seasoning, mozzarella, parmesan, and spinach. Set aside. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece out to a 6-8" circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup of ricotta filling onto each circle, fold over and seal the edges. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 20-30 min. in oven, or until nicely browned on the tops and bottoms. *Serve with warm marinara or alfredo for dipping! Makes 6-8.