Sweet Pork

If you have ever eaten at a Costa Vida or a Cafe Rio, you know what sweet pork is.
Stuff it in a Burrito, enchiladas, quesadilla, tacos or make a salad with it. I even eat it as a pulled pork sandwich too on a buttery toasted bun. I make more than a dozen of these a year. I buy the roast when they are half off.


MARINADE:
4-6 pound pork shoulder roast
1 cup enchilada sauce (red)
1 can of Dr. Pepper ( don't use that Diet crap either), if you don't have Dr pepper you can use Root beer or Coke, but go buy the Dr. Pepper, it is worth it. Trust me I have used all 3.
1/3 C olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 C light brown sugar

SEASONING SAUCE:
1 can Dr Pepper
1 C enchilada sauce (red)
4 oz can green chilies (chopped)
1 jalapeno (chopped without seeds)
1 C light brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all MARINADE ingredients to cover pork roast.
2. Marinate overnight if possible.
3. Put in a crockpot or large dutch oven, depending on how you are cooking it.
4. Crockpot cook on high for 4-5 hours or low 8 hours. In the oven at 200 degrees, I cook mine in the oven overnight, 8-12 hours. Cook till roast is fall-apart tender.
5. Removing it from the liquid it just cooked in. Remove fat (and bone) and shred.
6. Mix together SEASONING SAUCE.
7. Put shredded roast and seasoning sauce back into the cleaned out crockpot or dutch oven.
8. Simmer in a crockpot for at least 2 hours, or in a dutch oven back in the oven for at least 2 hours at 200 degrees.
9, Enjoy!

PS. The sauce you cooked the roast in, you can throw in some chopped chicken breast and cook till tender and serve that over rice as a bonus dish too!

Mexican Chicken Pasta Salad

1/2 pound rotini or other spiral pasta

1 pound shredded roasted chicken meat
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 1/2 C frozen corn, thawed
1 1/3 C shredded carrots
1 small bellpepper chopped
1/4 C chopped red onion

1/2 C mayo
1/2 C sour cream
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 ground cumin

salt
pepper
1 C fresh cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta in boiling salted water 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain and put in large bowl. Add next 7 ingredients and toss. Mix next 7 ingredients until very blended, pour dressing over pasta. salt and pepper to taste. and fresh cilantro and toss thoroughly.

You can do substitute another 1/2 C sour cream if you don't want to use the mayo.
Also you can add some salsa to it as well. We like to eat it cold.

Fumi Salad

1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 pkg ramen (noodles only)
raw sesame seeds
slivered almonds

dressing:
1/2 C oil
6 Tbsp rice vinegar (oriental section of grocery store)
3 Tbsp sugar
pepper

Brown sesame seeds and slivered almonds in oven. Stirring occasionally.
Take ramen , and beat pkg good to break up noodles into small bite size pieces, discard seasoning packet. Put shredded cabbage, broken noodles, cooled browned sesame seeds and almonds in bowl, mix well. Mix dressing till really blended good. We keep the salad and dressing separate and add dressing to each serving so it doesn't make the left over salad soggy in the fridge. If you are having a big dinner party, you may mix it all together and serve.

German Potato Salad

Boil 1.5 pounds of potato's with the peel still on. Let cool. After they have cooled, peel and then slice.
Dissolve 2 beef boullion cubes in 1/2 C water and pour over sliced potato's. Then mix dressing:

3 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
salt & pepper
onion
parsley

Mix well and pour over potatoes and mix then serve.

Cauliflower Salad

This salad is great in the summertime because you can eat it hot or cold. We really like it cold.

Cut up a head of cauliflower and steam it, not too soft though. Let cool.

Then mix:
2 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp cider vinegar
salt
1 tsp sugar
1 small finely diced onion
1 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp evaporated milk (optional) my family likes is without.

mix the dressing well, till all blended then pour over cooled cauliflower and you can enjoy it warm or refrigerate before eating. Over night is great, lets the dressing flavor soak into the cauliflower.