Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

I made this salad for our Super Saturday event this past week and the ladies raved about it. It is definitely my new favorite salad!


Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup lemon juice 2 teaspoons diced onion 1 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces 4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese 1 cup cashews 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1 apple - peeled, cored and diced 1 pear - peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, and salt. Process until well blended. With machine still running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until mixture is thick and smooth. Add poppy seeds, and process just a few seconds more to mix.
2.	In a large serving bowl, toss together the romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, dried cranberries, apple, and pear. Pour dressing over salad just before serving, and toss to coat.

Cafe Rio Copycat Recipes

Sweet Pork

1-2 lb. pork tenderloin (I have used inexpensive pork carnitas also - available at Winco)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh salsa

Mix sugar and salsa, pour over pork. Cook in crock pot for 8 hrs. on low. When done shred with two forks and return to juice in crock pot and allow liquid to absorb. Serve with tortillas and all the fixins!

Green Chile Rice (Serves 6)

1 cup rice
2 cups chicken broth
4 oz. green chiles
1 sm. onion, diced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. cumin
3 green onions.

Mix together and pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until rice is done at 350.

Cilantro Salad Dressing (This gets rave reviews everytime I serve it)

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (dry mix)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2- 1/3 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 - 1 small jalapeno (remove seed)
1 cup mayo
1 tsp. lime juice
1-2 tomatillos (remove outer papery skin)
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in blender!