Café Rio Companion Recipes

The following recipes are not necessarily recipes I would do for freezer cooking, but go perfectly with the Café Rio Chicken recipe I previously posted.

I posted both of these on my family blog, but decided to include them here as well. Freezer cooking doesn't mean every part of the meal has to come from the freezer. In this case you could make these black beans and the salad dressing and have wonderful salads topped with the Café Rio Chicken you pull from the freezer. Sprinkle your salad with a little cheese, pico de gallo, and tortilla strips. It makes a great, easy summer meal.

I found these recipes as Kara's Kitchen Creations.

Crock-pot Black Beans
2 cups dried black beans
About 3 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp cumin

Wash the dried beans pick out any rocks or beans that look funky. Pour them into a pan and add water till it is at least 2 inches above the beans. Let soak overnight (or for 8 hours.)
Drain off the water and pour beans into a crock pot. Add the 3 cups of water and the remaining ingredients. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. During the last couple hours of cooking, you can add extra water if you want them saucy.
(I added about 1 1/2 cups more water than the recipe called for. I also cooked them on high for about 6 hours and then turned them down to low for another 3-4 hours. I'm not sure that 8 hours on low would be enough. I like them very soft--almost beginning to fall apart. This recipes is also a tad salty. I will probably decrease it just a bit next time. I will also increase the cumin to at least 2 tsp.)

Café Rio Salad Dressing
1 cup mayo
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 of a bunch of cilantro with stems chopped off
1/2 - 1 small jalapeno (if you don’t like it spicy, remove the seeds)
1 tsp lime juice
1-2 tomatillos (remove outer papery skin and cut up)
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender.
(We loved this stuff!)