Sweet Pulled Pork or Mango Chicken Salad

We love Sweet Pulled Pork and Mango Chicken salads, so we looked around on blogs and websites and got these recipes together adding our twist to the recipes. They are time consuming to make so if you don’t have too many people to feed it works out well.

We served 22 people and we had a lot of leftover Chicken. Most of our guests chose the Sweet pulled pork over the shredded Chicken.

I’ve listed recipes below the Pictures of food items we used in our Sweet Pulled Pork Salad & the Mango Shredded Chicken Salad.

Crockpot Sweet Pulled Pork

*Pork Shoulder Roast or Pork Top Loin, around 3.42 Pounds, frozen or fresh the frozen will take longer to cook
*24 ounces Coke or Dr. Pepper
*2 tablespoons RED Enchilada Sauce, optional
*1/2 cup Frozen Lemonade Concentrate
*1/2 cup Brown Sugar
*2 tablespoons dried Onion Flakes
*1 tablespoon dried Minced Garlic
*1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, more if desired
*1/2 teaspoon Salt & Pepper, or to taste

Layer in crockpot in the above order on medium for 6-8 hours or until pork easily shreds.

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

*2 bags frozen Chicken tenders, 2.5 pounds each, thawed in refridgerator
*24 ounces 7-Up, or any lime soda
*2 tablespoons chopped dried Onion
*1 tablespoon minced dried Garlic
*1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, or to taste
*1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Seasoned Salad Dressing, pre-made
*1/4 teaspoon Salt & Black Pepper, or to taste

Cook on medium in slow cooker/crock pot 4-6 Hours or until no longer pink and shreds easily.

Seasoned Black Beans Recipe #1

*2 tablespoons Extra Light Olive Oil
*2 Cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
*1 teaspoon ground Cumin

Sauté the above ingredients just until you can smell garlic and remove from heat.

Add to above ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups canned Black Beans, drained and rinsed
*1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
*2 tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, long stem ends removed, chopped

Heat just until warm and serve.

Seasoned Black Beans Recipe #2

Serves 5-6 (using on Nachos or salads or burritos)

*1 can 15 ounce Black Beans, drained and rinsed
*1 clove Garlic, pressed or minced
*2 tablespoons minced Onions
*1 tablespoon Extra Light Olive Oil
*1/4 teaspoon Cumin
*Pinch Chili Powder
*1/4 cup Chicken Stock
*Salt to taste

In a sauté pan on medium heat, Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil and heat for 1-2 minutes, adding the garlic the last minute.

In a small sauce pot on medium heat add: Sautéed onions and garlic, black beans, chicken stock, cumin, chili powder and salt. Bring to a boil and serve or top of nachos, salads, burritos or desired dish.

Cilantro Lime Rice

*1 cup un-cooked Long Grain White Rice, I used 1/2 brown 1/2 White

**Optional: (I like to use a rice cooker, it makes more rice than the above rice recipe but I still use the same ingredients, except for the rice 2 1/2 cups Rice and 3 cups Chicken Broth low sodium follow your rice cooker directions for this option.)

*1 teaspoon Butter
*2 Cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
*1 teaspoon Fresh or bottled Lime Juice
*1 15 ounce can Chicken Broth
*1 cup water

Cook the rice in Saucepan on stove until the water is absorbed or rice cooker according to instructions. Add the following when the rice is finished cooking:

*1 tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
*2 teaspoons Sugar
*3 tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, long end stems removed, chopped

Fluff the rice and serve warm.

Pico de Gallo

*6 medium tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
*1/4 cup or 1/4 of a large red or White Onion
*1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, minced
*2 Tablespoons Cilantro, long end stems removed, chopped
*2 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
*2 Cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
*Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate covered at least 30 minutes.

Fresh Guacamole

*8 Avocados, peeled, diced and mashed
*1 cup Salsa Verde
*2 tablespoons Red Pepper, diced small
*4 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice or 2 limes squeezed
*2 Cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
*Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine the above ingredients in airtight container and refrigerate until cold, serve. (Guacamole will last in the fridge up to 2 days with out browning.)

Mango Salsa

*3 cups Frozen Mango, diced
*1 cup Fresh Mango, diced
* tablespoon Extra Light Olive Oil
*2 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice
*2 tablespoons Honey
*3 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
*1 tablespoon Red Onion, minced
*1 Jalapeño, seeds removed and minced
*1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, seeds removed, diced
*1/4 cup Yellow Bell Pepper, seeds removed, diced
*2-3 Cloves Garlic
*Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine the above ingredients in bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

*1 Packet a Traditional Valley Ranch ( not Buttermilk)
*1 cup Olive Oil Mayonnaise, I used Sour Cream
*1 cup Buttermilk
*2 Tomatillos, husks removed, diced (optional)
*1/2 bunch Cilantro, 2-3 tablespoons
*1 Clove Garlic, pressed or minced
*2 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
*1 Jalapeño, seeds removed

Blend the Ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until cold and serve.