Cafe' Rio Chicken & Rice

I got these recipes from Karen @ 365 Days of Slow Cooking...

Cafe' Rio Chicken
5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thawed
1 sm bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a bowl. Place chicken on bottom of a greased crockpot.
Pour mixture in bowl over the top of chicken. Cook on high 5-7 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and reserve juice to pour over chicken when serving.

Café Rio Lime Rice

2 Tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
6 2/3 cup water
8 tsp chicken bullion (7 cubes)-I used 1 1/2 cubes
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp salt
3 cups long grain rice

Sauté butter, onion, and garlic.
Boil everything else except rice in a large pot.
Add onion and garlic—then add rice. Cover and simmer.

Tomatillo Creamy Café Rio Dressing

1 package Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch mix
1 cup buttermilk -- I used 1 cup milk + 1 tbs. lemon juice
1 cup mayo -- I used an entire small jar
2 tomatillos (peel outer skin layer)
1 clove minced garlic (1 tsp of pre-packaged stuff)
1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
½ tsp lime juice
1 sm jalapeno (seeds removed)

Put all ingredients into a blender. Add extra mayo if dressing is too thin. Refrigerate.


My Thoughts:
-Simplicity: 3.5 out of 5 -- not the easiest, but not too difficult-- I have enough rice and dressing to last for 3 more meals (after feeding 4 adults) which will make those meals super easy.
-Ingredients: 3 out of 5
-Taste: 5 out of 5 -- loved it!!