Cafe Rio Pork

Like any good pork dish, the name of the game is low and slow.


Cafe Rio Pork
5-6 lb pork roast
20 oz Dr Pepper or Coca-Cola (do not use diet soda)
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
7 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
6-8 oz jar red taco sauce
1 t dry mustard
1 t cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper

1. Place roast in slow cooker, cover about halfway with water, and cook on low for 12 hours, or overnight; drain pork.
2. Mix remaining ingredients until the sugar is dissolved; pour over roast and cook on low for 4 hours.
3. Shred pork, add back into sauce, and cook for another 2 hours.
*You can just use the sauce, or you can use the sauce and up to all of the chiles if you would like some more heat (I throw the whole can in).

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

1 1/4 c ketchup
dash of crushed red pepper
1/2 c honey mustard
1 T (apple) cider vinegar
1 c sugar
1/4 t hot sauce
1 t minced garlic
3 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t garlic salt
1/2 c lemon juice
1 t garlic powder
dash of liquid smoke
1 t basil
1 c Dr. Pepper
1 t black pepper
1 c flour (opt)

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender or with a mixer. 2. If you want it to be thinner (more like a marinade), omit flour. If you want it to be thicker (like a BBQ sauce), add the flour.

Cake Technique

My husband was out of town on Father's Day, so I spent it at a potluck with a friend and her extended family. One of the desserts served was a spice cake. I commented on how good it was and asked the girl who made it (I don't even know her name) if she made it from scratch and she said "No, it's a box mix with Diet Coke." Diet Coke? What do you mean? She replaced the oil, eggs, and water with Diet Coke and it turned out great!

So here's the deal:
Substitute a can (or cup and a half) of diet soda for the wet ingredients for a cake mix (I'm not sure it works too well with butter recipes) and it turns out just as good as normal, without the added fat and cholesterol of oil and eggs. Use darker sodas (Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc.) for darker cakes like chocolate and lighter sodas (Sprite, Fresca, etc.) for lighter cakes like yellow.

I made this lemon cake with Sprite Zero.