For my kids, today is the last day of summer! We’ve been running around getting the last of the necessary school supplies, meeting the teachers and finding classrooms, and counting socks and underwear to make sure we are prepared. Fortunately for us, dinner was EASY!
Before the marathon shopping day, I threw some chicken in the slow cooker with some seasonings and made some salad dressing. It took me no more than 4 minutes! Furthermore,
At 4:00, I started by putting on a pot of rice in the rice cooker (1 minute, tops!)
At 6:00, I chopped lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and also opened a can of black beans. (5 minutes, tops!)
Then, all we had to when everyone arrived for dinner, was assemble. Here is how it looked:
Fresh and Tasty Mexican Crockpot Summer Salad Recipe
Layer 1: Tortilla


Layer 3: Shredded lettuce

Layer 4: Black Beans

Layer 5: The chicken from the crockpot

Layer 6: Avocados and tomatoes

Layer 7: Creamy Dressing

Of course these adorable neighbors loved it!

I love these days as proof that even on the busiest days, you in fact don’t have to resort to eating out! This whole meal was super easy, even so, super fast!
The following is the crockpot chicken recipe
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1/2 cup zesty Italian Dressing (or homemade zesty Italian)
- 1/2 TBL Chili Powder
- 1/2 TBL Cumin
- 2 Garlic cloves
All dumped in the crockpot, and then set at low for 4-5 hours.
In addition here’s the dressing we made was:
- 2 cups Greek Yogurt
- 3 tomatillos
- 1 jalapeno (optional, ours was pretty small from our garden)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lime, juiced (squeeze the juice into the mix)
- 1 pkg Ranch Dressing seasoning (our homemade ranch seasoning is on this page)
Put everything in the blender and blend until tomatillos are completely blended.


Hallelujah for easy, fresh, delicious, and healthy meals!!

Café Rio Salad (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 6 large flour tortillas click for our recipe
- 2 cups cilantro lime rice click for our recipe
- 2 cups black beans click for our Instant Pot recipe
- 3 cups Cafe Rio shredded chicken click for our Slow Cooker recipe
- 12 cups chopped lettuce romaine
- 1 1/2 cups pico de gallo
- 1 1/2 cups guacamole click for our recipe
- 1/3 cup Cotija cheese
- 1 1/2 cups tortilla strips
- 2 medium limes cut into wedges
- 1 1/2 cups creamy tomatillo ranch dressing click for our recipe
Instructions
- Place tortilla on a plate or tin (if using to be extra copycat 😉
- Layer cilantro lime rice, black beans, shredded chicken, chopped lettuce, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Sprinkle with Cotija cheese and tortilla strips.
- Place a lime wedge on top and garnish with extra cilantro if you want. Serve with creamy tomatillo ranch on the side. Enjoy!