Spanish Rice

2 cups non instant rice

3 Tbls butter

4 cups chicken broth

1 heaping Tbsp tomato paste

In large skillet melt butter and toast the rice in the butter.  Add chicken broth and tomato paste. Mix with fork til all blended.  Cover and simmer for 20 min.

**This recipe came from my friend.  She uses 4 cups of water then adds 4 chicken boulion cubes. I love how easy this recipe is.

**You can add some diced tomatoes, green peppers and onions if you want. Add them when you add the water and let them simmer with the rice.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

1 package ranch dressing (dry)

1 cup mayonaise

1 cup chopped cilantro

2 cloves crushed garlic

3 tamatios

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients well.  Serve over sweet pork salads. 

*We left out the cayenne pepper so it wouldn't be too spicy.  This was the first time I had cooked with cilantro.  If you like cilantro, you will like this dressing.

**This recipe came from a friend here in Carson City.

Lime Rice

4 tsp. chicken bouillon
4 tsp. garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
1 can green chilies
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. butter
1/2 chopped onion

Blend all ingredients in blender then put in pan and add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Add 3 cups rice (non instant) and simmer 30 minutes.  Serve as a side dish or with your sweet pork taco salads. This recipe makes alot.

**This recipe came from one of my friends here in Carson City.  I was surprised when I read the recipe and I didn't see any LIME in it.  I called my friend to make sure it didn't have any LIME.  It doesn't, but with the ingredients combined together, you can taste a lime flavor.  Really YUMMY!

Sweet Pork (Like Cafe Rio's)

This Picture doesn't show the pork that well, but Oh MAN!  It is delicous!

1 Large Pack Boneless Pork Ribs (I used just over 5 lbs...There will be left overs.)
1 (12 oz) bottle of salsa (I used my homemade)
1 (20 oz) bottle of coke (I used 1 1/2 cans)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cumin

Place pork in crock pot and fill 1/2 way up the pork with water.  Cook on low for 11-12 hours.  Drain off water.  Remove pork from crock pot and shred it with forks.  Place pork back in crock pot.  Mix together salsa, coke, brown sugar, and cumin.  Pour it over the pork.  Let cook for another 3 hours on low.  Serve in a burrito, taco, or salad.

OH MY GOODNESS!  I'm so glad that I got up at 3 AM to put this in the crockpot.  It was so worth it.  We served it up on a toasted flour tortilla with black beans, lime rice, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and cilantro ranch dressing.  WOW!  Maybe these would be good for your Cinco De Mayo Party!

*We had enough to divide up for two more meals after this one.  I put it in freezer bags and froze it for future meals.

This recipe is a combination of two recipes.  My SIL shared it with me along with a good friend, both the same, but with different measurements and cooking times.  So glad they were willing to share.

Chicken Enchiladas (EASY)

This recipe was taken from ALLRECIPES.COM.

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 10 (8 inch) flour tortillas, warmed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, chicken, sour cream, soup, chilies, onion, pepper and salt. Spoon about 1/2 cup off center on each tortilla; roll up. Place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. 
   
   Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

** This is a yummy, "hit the spot" dish.  I do finely chop the green onions because of a few of us that don't like chewing green onions.  They give them a yummy flavor though.  The kids ate this dish up with no complaints!  I used canned chicken breast for the 2 cups chicken.  You could also pick up a rotisserie chicken and use it.  That will save time on some of the prep.

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb hamburger
1/2 small diced onion
1 clove garlic
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
1 can olives (sliced)
grated cheddar cheese
Corn tortilla shells

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic. Add salt, chili powder, tomato sauce, and some olives. Heat til it starts to bubble. Layer ingredients in a sprayed 6x6 casserole dish. Start with some meat sauce, then a layer of tortilla shells...cutting them so they fit pan, then meat sauce and cheese, then more tortilla shells. Continue until you run out of meat. Add a 1/3 cup of water around the edges. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 30 min.

Another great recipe from Jim's mom! We love enchilada's and this is a quicker recipe than the other that I have posted.

Cinco De Mayo

We Love Mexican Food. The last several years we have had a get together with family or friends on Cinco De Mayo. We all bring our favorite mexican dish and eat lots! This is what we ate on Cinco De Mayo this year. Homemade chips/Tamales from Lady Tamales/Refried Beans/Spanish Rice/Guacamole/Jim's meat/not pictured...chicken fajitas. So yummy! Missed sharing it with friends this year.

Enchiladas

1-2 lbs ground beef

some diced onion

15-20 corn tortilla shells

Enchilada sauce 28 oz (or larger)

1 can olives

grated cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with onions. Add some cheese and enchilada sauce. Just enough to make the meat stick together slightly. Slice olives then add about 1/3 of them to the meat.

Deep fry corn tortilla shells. About 7 secs on each side. Then drain them on paper towels.

Drizzle a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Lay tortilla shell in sauce in pan....getting sauce on both sides of shell. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture in center of shell. Roll shell up and place at end of pan. Continue doing this until all meat is used up. Line each enchilada up til pan is full. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the shells evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and top with remainder olives.