Copycat Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice

This is part of the Cafe Rio copycat recipes, and this one is spot on to the real thing.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil.  Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.  Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro.  Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Copycat Cafe-Rio House Cilantro Ranch Dressing

My children would eat this dressing with a spoon or anything else that I could find.  They LOVE IT!  and that is an understatement.  My daughter literally licks the container clean, I can't believe I'm admitting that.  Yes, it's that good.  Try it, you won't be sorry you did.

3 medium size tomatillos
1 jalapeno, with seeds removed
1 tsp. garlic minced

Place Tomatillos, garlic and jalapeno in a pan with a bit of olive oil and sea salt and roast them on a low to medium heat until soft and slightly brown.

1 cup Buttermilk
1 cup Mayonaise
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
juice of 1 lime
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Place all ingredients, including roasted tomatillo's, into a blender or food processor and blend unil completely blended (about 2 minutes)

Caramel

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

2 cups half and half

line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

Combine sugar, corn syrup butter and 1 cup of half & half in a large, heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining cup of half & half.

Cook over medium heat (at a rapid simmer) stirring occasionally, until it reaches 245 F on a candy thermometer. (You will want to watch it closely after it reaches about 215 F and stir in frequently as it nears the 245 F point to prevent scorching.)

Pour into the prepared pan and allow to cool at room temperature.  Remove the caramel by lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Cut into bite size squares for candies and wrap individually in waxed paper, or heat some caramel over low heat using more half &half to thin it out to make a dipping caramel. Store in an airtight container, put in fridge if keeping more than a few days.

Garlic Parmesan Almond Flour Stuffing

I have a brother in law and grandma who are both gluten free.  My mother in law taught me this recipe for making stuffing for thanksgiving, and to be honest, I like this better than traditional stuffing.  The key difference being that it's crunchy, unless you add a lot of chicken broth.  It is super flavorful, and amazing!!

Garlic Parmesan Bread

 3 c Almond flour

¾ c parmesan cheese

3 Tb butter (soft or melted)

¾ c Monterrey Jack Cheese (or dry curd cottage cheese)

½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

2 eggs

½ c water

4 cloves pressed garlic

Blend all ingredients but parmesan cheese & almond flour – in a blender.  Dump into a bowl with parmesan cheese & almond flour.  Mix together, pour into 3 mini loaf pans.  Bake at 325 50-55 minutes until done.  Let cool in pan.  Once cooled, turn out of pans and cut into cubes. Place bread cubes onto a large baking sheet and put back into oven @ 250 bake until dry.

Chop 1 large onion and 4 stalks of celery.  Then saute chopped onions and celery in 1/4 C. butter.  Add 1/2 C of chicken broth, 1/2 tsp. sage, salt and pepper to taste.  Add this to the dried bread cubes and serve while warm.  You can add more or less of the sage and chicken broth according to how you like your stuffing.  I prefer mine more crunchy, so I add less chicken broth, but it's up to you to determine how you like yours best.