Yummy Recipes from Tannon's Farewell

Wow! Yesterday was one of the biggest emotional roller coasters I have ever been on. The good thing was I was prepared. After sending Easton on a mission, I knew how hard it was going to be to say good bye to Tannon for 2 years as well. Dan and I both cried like babies. Tan-Man, we know you are going to be a GREAT missionary. Look out, Malaga, Spain!

As many of you know, we had quite the party last weekend for Tannon. We fed over 200 people and the food turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself! I thought I'd share with you what we served and the recipes for the three main dishes.

We served Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salads. We did an 'assembly line' in this order:
1. Soft Flour Tortilla (this went on their plate and was the 'base' for their salad)
2. Lime/Cilantro Rice (recipe below)
3. Black Beans (cooked of course. lol)
4. Sweet Pork Barbacoa (recipe below)
5. Romaine Lettuce, chopped
6. Fresh Cilantro
7. Pico de Gaillo
8. Guacamole
9. Sour cream
10. Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing (recipe below)
11. Crushed Tortilla Chips
12. Parmesan Cheese
13. Slice of Lime

Lime Cilantro Rice (serves about 15)
1 lb. long grain rice (2 1/4 cups)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
juice of 2 limes
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbs. oil
4 c. water

Chop garlic and cilantro. Heat 2 tbs. oil in a skillet. Add rice and all chopped ingredients. Saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Put 4 C. water and lime juice in a rice cooker. Add rice mixture and cook according to the cooker's directions. If you don't have a rice cooker, combine rice mixture, water and lime juice in a 3 quart pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice (approx. 15 minutes)

Sweet Pork Barbacoa (serves about 15)
6 lbs. pork (if you shop at Costco, this is approximately one of the 4 packs of pork roasts they sell)
1-16 oz. bottle salsa (I puree mine)
1 can coke
2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot and fill it 1/2 the way up the pork with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork into thirds. Mix together sauce ingredients and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with 2 forks. Leave on low until ready to serve.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing (serves about 15)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayo
3 tomatillos
2 cloves garlic
1 c. fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients in blender. Refrigerate.

YUM! The salads were a hit!