YUMMY!

We didn't get to do much for Veteran's Day unfortunately due to the horrid rain and wind. But it was still nice to have J home for an extra day just to hang out. He spent most the day playing with and taking care of V who of course was thrilled to hang out with his Daddy. I was assured that V had only just woken up from his nap when I walked into the bedroom to find him helping J play Xbox! We did make a quick outing to the store to get some essentials for a special dinner. As most of you know I am a H-U-G-E Cafe Rio fan and miss it terribly. Even though I will be able to have the real thing in a few days, I couldn't resist trying out a homemade version I found on the internet. When it was all done it did look very similar, only missing the coijita cheese which I couldn't find.

I only made the pork, so everyone had to have the same salad. But it was mostly homemade and not quite as labor intensive as one would think. I even made pico de gallo for the first time! And the result was...

DELICIOUS!!! It wasn't exactly the same as Cafe Rio's pork, mine was a bit sweeter whereas there's is sweet with a little kick, but it was still good. I think I will just keep playing with it and see if I can get it closer to the real thing. I will admit I still missed the hand made tortilla's but otherwise it got a thumbs up from J and my parents who all enjoy Cafe Rio too.

Here's the recipe I used, and some notes of things I changed or might change when I do it again:

Sweet Pork

* 1 (3-5) boneless pork loin

* 1 cup salsa, Pace or something similar not fresh

* 1 cup brown sugar

Place all ingredients in Slow Cooker on low for 8 hours. Shred when done and let stand for 15 minutes with out lid for sause to thicken. (Next time I am going to use a spicier salsa and maybe add a little less brown sugar to try and get the sweet and tad spicy factor)

Cilantro-Lime Rice

* 1 cup uncooked rice

* 1 tsp butter or margarine

* 2 glove garlic, minced (I left this out)

* 1 tsp lime zest

* 1 can (15oz) chicken broth

* 1 1/4 cup water

* 2 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

* 2 tps granulated sugar

* 3 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro

In sauce pan combine first six ingredients. Bring to boil. Cover and cook 15-20 mins, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. Combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro in small bowl. Pour over hot cooked rice. (The rice tasted good but was a little too moist, mushy. Next time I would reduce some of the liquid)

Pico de Gallo

* 5 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into small pieced

* 1/2 large onion cut into small pieces

* juice from half of a lime

* about 1 Tbs canned green chilis

* about 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

I didn't have a recipe for pico de gallo so I just winged it but it tasted good to us!

There was a recipe for the beans also but I just used regular canned black beans. Also there was a recipe for the dressing but we just bought El Torrita Cilantro Ceasar dressing and it was very close. I made homemade guacomole, and just crisped the edges and melted some cheese on some store bought tortillas in the oven. And they sell tortilla strips at the store now too. Again we enjoyed it and it definitely will fulfill my cravings in the future. Anyway, for those of you that are fellow Cafe Rio lovers, I hope you can use this and enjoy it too!

And just for cuteness sake a last little note, V is getting so close to sitting on his own. He does so for short bursts before tipping over, but knows to roll to his stomach when he does tip. So today while my mom and I were getting ready to leave the house, she propped him against the wall and dresser. And it was just so cute b/c he sat there for quite some time first with a forlorn why did you set me down look, but then he started giggling at her which must have thrown off his balance b/c then he tipped over.

We think he will be sitting by himself anyday now and I am betting crawling by Christmas. He already roles with no problem. And today I even noticed while on his belly, he will push up his torso and scoot himself over to get within reach of a toy, I was very impressed! Everyday brings new things with him.