Taco Hamburger Skillet

 I saw this recipe for basically homemade Hamburger Helper, only this is like the taco version with pasta instead of rice. You could easily use rice if you preferred, but our family enjoyed the pasta just fine. I also thought that if I wanted to sneak more veggies or filler into my kids, some corn or beans might be a good addition to this dish. See the original recipe here:

https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/cheeseburger-macaroni-my-kids-favorite/

Taco Hamburger Skillet

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning or about 1 ounce
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis such as a 10 ounce can of Rotel
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• Optional- canned corn or beans
• Toppings- lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese, taco chips, or any of your favorite taco-type toppings.

Cheese Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and drain grease.
2. Stir in taco seasoning, tomatoes, beef broth, and macaroni and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 minutes until macaroni is tender.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
4. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 2-3 minutes until it becomes fragrant and starts to turn a light brown color.
5. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and mixture starts to thicken. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted. Add the salt and pepper to the cheese sauce.
6. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture. Stir gently to combine.

Marsha's Notes:

It would be really easy to add just about anything to this that you thought would be good, like onion  or peppers when browning the meat, any kind of beans you like, corn or maybe peas and carrots. You can eat it as is, or top with any additional taco toppings once served. You can also swap the pasta for rice for a more authentic Taco Hamburger Helper feel, but it may require an adjustment to the liquids in the recipe.

Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Loaf

Made this for dinner last night and everyone just loved it. I think it has the potential to make an amazing grilled cheese sandwich as well.

Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 Tbl. baking powder
• 1 Tbl. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• Topping:
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/8 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients. 
2. Combine dry ingredients with cheese. 
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk, then add to the dry ingredient/cheese mixture. 
4. Combine until just mixed and moistened (do not over mix). 
5. Then add 1/4 cup melted butter and mix just until combined (mixture will be thick and chunky). 
6. Spread batter in a greased loaf pan (I used my metal one) and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. 
7. Mix together topping ingredients and pour over the top of the hot loaf immediately after it comes out of the oven. 
8. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes and then remove from pan to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Marsha's Notes:

Our loaf did not rise or dome very much and was still perfect.

Cap'N Crunch French Toast

When I visit my family in Idaho Falls, I love to get brunch with everyone before we leave town on Sunday mornings. One of my favorite stops is Abracadabra to get their Cap'N Crunch French Toast with buttermilk syrup. But alas, we don't always make it to Abracadabra each trip, so it was about high time I recreated this recipe at home so I can have it anytime I want! With Crunchy French Toast under my belt, this was the next inevitable step. And it was SOOO GOOD!

Marsha's Cap'N Crunch French Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French Bread
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2-3 cups crushed Cap'N Crunch cereal (about 1/2 a regular-sized box)
• buttermilk syrup
• fresh sliced bananas
• whipped cream
• powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Slice your French bread into 1 inch slices. 
2. Whip up your eggs and milk together. 
3. Dip the bread into the egg mixture until evenly coated, then dip into the crushed cereal, pressing the cereal into the bread to coat evenly. 
4. Cook on a grilled until the toast starts to brown. 
5. Serve with fresh sliced bananas, whipped cream, a drizzle of buttermilk syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Marsha's Notes:

I found this buttermilk syrup in our grocery store and it was PERFECT!

Oreos

A submission by Krystal!

Oreos

Ingredients:

• 1 box Devil's Food cake mix
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 small cream cheese (3 oz)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Put cake mix dry into a bowl.  
2. Stir in shortening and add eggs.  Mix with a fork.  
3. Roll into marble sized balls.  
4. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  
5. Filling:  Cream together butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.  Spread on one cookie and sandwich together with additional cookie.

Cafe Rio Copy Cat Recipes

On the recommendation of Scott's sister, I think, we found these fun Cafe Rio copy cat recipes on Favorite Family Recipes. All of them are pretty good, and you can tweak them to your liking. Enjoy!

Cafe Rio's Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans

Ingredients: 

For the Rice:

• 1 cup rice uncooked, long-grain, white rice
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon lime juice freshly squeezed
• 15 ounces chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons cilantro fresh chopped

For the Black Beans:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 14 ounces black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 1/3 cups tomato juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cilantro fresh chopped

Directions:

For the Rice:

1. In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 teaspoon lime, chicken broth and water. 
2. Bring to a boil. 
3. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. 
4. Remove from heat. 
5. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. 
6. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

For the Black Beans:

1. In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. 
2. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. 
3. Continually stir until heated through. 
4. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Cafe Rio's Cilantro Ranch Dressing 

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix TRADITIONAL not BUTTERMILK
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos remove husk, diced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro fresh
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 jalapeno

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients in to a blender. 
2. Blend until smooth. 
3. Let sit overnight to thicken or add sour cream. Serve as a dressing over salad or as a dip for veggies and chips.

Cafe Rio's Tortilla Soup 

Ingredients:

• 1 onion diced
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicier)
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 5 c. chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1/2 lime juiced pepper to taste
• 14 oz pinto beans 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• vegetable oil to taste
• pico de gallo 
• 2 avocados diced
• 2 c. pepper jack cheese
• tortilla strips 
• cilantro for garnish
• lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, saute onion in 1 Tbsp. oil until onions become slightly soft. 
2. Stir in cumin, cayenne, and chili powder and saute an additional minute or two. 
3. Transfer seasoned onions to a small crock pot (or medium-sized saucepan). 
4. Add chicken broth, cliantro, lime juice, pepper and pinto beans to onions and simmer on low-heat for at least 2-3 hours. 
5. In the meantime (when you are close to serving), combine taco seasoning and paprika. 
6. Brush chicken with oil and rub with taco seasoning/paprika mixture. 
7. Grill chicken over medium-heat until cooked through (try to turn only once during the grilling process). 
8. Remove from grill and shred. 
9. In individual bowls layer chicken, about 1/3 c. pico de gallo, 1/3 c. diced avocado, and 1/3 c. pepper jack cheese. 
10. Ladle about 1 cup of chicken broth directly over the layers. 
11. Top with tortilla strips and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Maddox Turkey Steaks

We are lucky enough to live in an area where we can get Maddox turkey steaks out of our freezer section in the grocery store. But preparing them like they do at the restaurant is no easy task. I've tried several ways, but this is currently my favorite! Enjoy!

Marsha's Maddox Turkey Steaks

Ingredients:

• Turkey Steaks, thawed
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Salt
• Oil

Directions:

1. Thaw turkey steaks in fridge overnight. 
2. Melt 2-3 Tbl butter in a pan. 
3. Season the steaks with a touch of salt, pepper, and garlic salt on both sides. 
4. Cook in pan over medium to medium-low heat (to give the center plenty of time to cook) until the internal temperature reaches 150-165 degrees, turning occasionally. Can add extra oil to the pan if there is not enough butter. Steaks are done when center is no longer pink. 
5. Took me about 15-20 min. per batch. I can cook 3 steaks at a time in my largest fry pan. Wipe pan out with paper towel between batches.

Copy-Cat Olive Garden Sangria

Olive Garden has the most amazing sangria and I was lucky enough to find some copy-cat recipes on the internet so I could get the basis for making my own at home! So fruity, sweet, and yummy especially in summer! I want to jot down this recipe before next summer comes and I get a craving!

Marsha's Olive Garden Copy-Cat Sangria

Ingredients:

• Ice, crushed
• Fruit, sliced strawberries and oranges
• 4 oz. Moscato
• 1 oz. flavored syrup/puree
• 1 oz. soda pop or juice

Directions:

1. For Watermelon Sangria- use crushed ice, sliced strawberries and oranges, 4 oz. Moscato, 1 oz. Monin Watermelon Syrup, 1 oz. ginger ale
2. For Green Apple Sangria- use crushed ice, sliced strawberries and oranges, 4 oz. Moscato, 1 oz. Monin Green Apple Puree, 1 oz. pineapple juice.
3. Add all ingredients to your glass (or quadruple recipe for a pitcher) and stir!

Monin Watermelon Syrup (click here to go to Amazon)

Monin Green Apple Puree (click here to go to Amazon)

Wendy's Salad and McDonald's Wrap Hacks

Wendy's has two salads that I am quite fond of, but I am not fond of paying their prices for it. Same goes for a wrap that McDonald's has discontinued. So, I keep trying to make the salads and wrap at home for much cheaper. So, here's my take on the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad and the Strawberry Fields Chicken Salad, plus the Sweet Chili Chicken Wrap. Since the assembly is to simply put everything together, I am just listing ingredients with links to things that might be harder to find.

Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• salad mix, any you prefer
• green apples (Granny Smith), bite size pieces
• red apples (any kind you like, I prefer cruchy and tart), bite size pieces
• blue cheese crumbles
• dried cranberries (crazins)
• roasted/candied pecan pieces
• grilled chicken, bite size pieces
• Marzetti Simply Dressed Pomegranate Vinaigrette

For approximately 570 calories, my proportions for this salad are:

• 4.5 oz Dole Classic Romaine Salad Mix
• 105 grams chicken
• 2 servings Marzetti Simply Dressed Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• 1 Tbl blue cheese
• 1 Tbl candied pecans
• 1/2 granny smith apple
• 1 Tbl cranberries

Wendy's Strawberry Fields Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• salad mix, any you prefer
• fresh strawberries, sliced
• blue cheese crumbles
• bacon, crumbled
• honey roasted/candied sunflower seeds
• sliced red onion
• grilled chicken, bite size pieces
• Marzetti Simply Dressed Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette

McDonald's Sweet Chili Chicken Wrap

Ingredients:

• flour tortilla
• Panda Express Sweet Chili sauce
• cucumber slices
• tomato slices
• salad greens (chopped romaine, baby spinich and baby kale)
• grilled chicken, bite size pieces (the picture shows crispy, but I get grilled)
• *I also add some grated cheese from time to time

Marsha's Copycat Subway Meatball Sub

I am not the kind of person who likes meatloaf. It's kind of a childhood trauma thing. And homemade meatballs were just as evil because they were just tiny meatloaves in disguise! However, I had a good friend in high school who loved the Subway meatball sub and she must have let me try her's once because I discovered that I really LOVED the sauce and meatballs in that sandwich. I suspect that those particular meatballs are highly processed and packed with preservatives because they are made to survive the fast food industry. But, for a meatloaf hater like myself, I thought they were delicious.

For those of you that LOVE real meatloaf and meatballs, I appologize...

Then, I stumbled upon some pre-made freezer meatballs by Armour. They were on sale for a great price and I thought it might be worth picking some up; if for no other reason than my husband isn't picky and would eat them, plus my middle boys kept asking me for meatballs with his spaghetti (because I think that is how it always comes on TV, so he wondered why his spaghetti never had them). Being "brave", I put one single meatball on my pasta to try... and discovered that this meatball tasted almost exactly like the Subway meatballs to me. YIPPEEE!

So, the next inevitable step was to make a sandwich from them, which I did just last night, and it turned out spectacular!!! If you like Subway meatball sandwiches, I think you are going to be very pleased with this copycat recipe. It's a great and simple way to satisfy you craving without having to leave home. Seriously... so simple!

Marsha's Copycat Subway Meatball Sub 

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Sara Lee Deli Rolls (or your favorite hogie/sub bun)
• 1 pkg Armour Meatballs, any flavor you like
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor you like or homemade (I used Bertolli)
• mozzarella cheese slices 

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan, put the whole bag of frozen meatballs and cover with the entire jar of sauce. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer on low until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally. If sauce looses too much water during the process, add 1/4-1/2 cup water as needed to reconstitute the sauce.  
2. When meatballs are hot, open one bun, line bottom bun with mozzarella cheese slices, top with 5-6 meatballs and sauce, and top with top bun. If your sauce was just simmering and your cheese isn't sliced too thick, it should melt the cheese quickly. Enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

These sandwiches can be messy and a bit tricky to keep all the meatballs from sliding around, but they are so yummy! I always get my Subway meatball sub with black olives on it (reminds me of pepperoni and olive pizza), which I think would taste just as yummy in this recipe. My husband said he could go for a few slices of onion or green pepper on his. You could also do a little sprinkling of Parmesans cheese too.

Marsha's Version of "Olive Garden's" Fagioli Soup

This is a tweaked copy-cat version of a soup you can get at the Olive Garden. It is kind of cross between soup and chili with an Italian flare.

Marsha's Version of  "Olive Garden's" Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup julienned/grated carrot
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2(+) cups water
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 ounce) can v-8 vegetable juice
• 1 Tbl. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 pkg. ditali pasta
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Brown beef in a large stock pot over medium heat and drain off fat.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. About 40-50 minutes into simmer time, boil pasta to al dente in another pot, approximately ten minutes.  Drain.
5. Add pasta to the large pot of soup and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve and top with grated cheese if desired.  Leftovers freeze well.

Marsha's Notes:

Add enough water to reach the consistency that you like. Some recipes call for adding the liquid that the beans come in, but I like to control the amount of salt that is added into things and prefer to use fresh water instead.  I also used two different kinds of red beans instead of the northern beans, so just use beans that you like.  The leftovers, I thought, were even better than the original soup because the flavors continued to blend together.  Yummy!  Not a huge onion or celery fan, I simply chopped those ingredients up as finely as I could manage and they were just fine.

Marsha's Homemade "Papa Kelsey's" Sandwiches

Scott and I really enjoy going to Papa Kelsey's, but the nearest location to our home is about 45 minutes away.  Several times Scott has mentioned that we should try and make homemade sandwiches like theirs so we don't have to drive so far or wait so long to satisfy our cravings.  So, in the last month or two I have been on a quest to recreate our favorite Papa Kelsey's sandwiches at home, and I think I have finally succeeded (and Scott agrees).

The pictures are from the Papa Kelsey's website, but the bread recipe came from a cookbook my mother-in-law bought that is full of recipes from her co-workers in Idaho.

French Bread Hoagie Buns

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 Tbl. yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 to 3 Tbl. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups hot water
• 6-7 cups flour

1. Mix 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar together and set aside to get frothy.  (If yeast doesn't froth, it might be too old or else the temperature of the water was either too warm or too cold.)
2. In a large mixer, add yeast mixture to oil, 2-3 Tbl. sugar, salt, and 2 cups hot water.  Mix well.  Add 3 cups of flour and mix (this will be lumpy).  Add 3-4 more cups of flour to make a nice bread dough.  Knead and put in a greased bowl and let rise 20 minutes.  Punch down.  Let rise again for 20 minutes.  Punch down and form into hoagie buns.  Place on greased cookie sheet(s) and let raise.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Makes approximately 10 hoagie buns.

Marsha's Notes:

I think I let it bake for like 15 or 20 minutes and then kept checking it every 5 minutes until it was done.  I don't think it took much more than about 25 minutes, but I can't remember for sure right now, so just watch it and see.

As far as the sandwiches go, Papa Kelsey's has all different kinds of sandwiches.  At the location we frequent, they also have take-out menus on the front counter that tell you basically EVERYTHING that is in all of the sandwiches, so it's not too difficult to recreate your favorites once you get the proportions right.  So, here are three of our favorites:

Marsha's "Papa Kelsey's" Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Wrangler:

• BBQ sauce
• mushrooms
• chopped white onion
• Swiss/Mozzarella cheese
• pineapple tidbits
• sliced roast beef/steak sandwich meat

Pizza Sub:

• pizza sauce
• mozzarella cheese, in slices
• pepperoni slices

Ham and Cheese:

• mayo
• mustard
• white and yellow cheese slices (I use provolone and either cheddar or Colby Jack)
• sliced ham sandwich meat
• tomato slices (optional, in my opinion)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven AND cookie sheet to 425 degrees.  Take a pre-made hoagie bun and slice it open to make a sandwich.  Place your cheese down first, then top the cheese with your sauces (pizza, BBQ, mayo, etc.) to keep the bread from getting soggy.  Top the sauce with your veggies/fruit and end with the meat on the very top.  Do this on both halves of the bread, so watch your proportions.
2. Place your prepared hoagie halves on a piece of tin foil next to each other, meat-side-up. (Do not cover with foil, only place them on top of the foil and do not stack your halves yet.)  Place the tinfoil on the preheated cookie sheet and bake sandwiches for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melting and the ingredients are getting hot.  Pull sandwiches from the oven, place your halves together to make the final sandwich, wrap the sandwich up in the foil and place directly back in the oven to finish heating through (do not put back on the cookie sheet).  Let sandwiches continue to heat for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is melted, hot and delicious (do not let burn).  Serve.

Marsha's Notes:

If you want to be "totally" Papa Kelsey's, you can also serve your sandwich with a pickle spear on the side and a bag of those Lay's potato chips that are basically just salted greasy air, but I never bother.  :)  

I also love their "Italian Salad": Lettuce, Pepperoni, Black Olives, Mozzarella Cheese & Homemade Croutons

They also now have a chicken, bacon ranch sandwich: Grilled chicken, bacon, mozzarella cheese, & pk's ranch dressing

And, we love their cheese bread: 

Food's "Romano's Macaroni Grill" Chicken Cannelloni

My friend made dinner for us, and she made the most wonderful pasta dish.  I, of course, got the recipe immediately and we made it for dinner.  For a cheese and pasta lover like myself, it is basically heaven in a pan.  I just had to share with you all.

As always, I changed the recipe just slightly, either because it was a hard to find ingredient and the recipe didn't call for very much, or because I had something else on hand.  I have noted my changes so you can make the authentic recipe if you want to.  The original recipe is on the Food website.  The picture is from the Romano's Macaroni Grill website.

"Romano's Macaroni Grill" Chicken Cannelloni

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces chicken breast, cooked
• 1 ounce fresh spinach, chopped (I just used some dried parsley for the same color effect)
• 1 ounce sun-dried tomato, sliced (couldn't find this in our little grocery store, so I just left it out)
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese (I could only find 15 ounce containers... close enough)
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about one cup)
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 sheets lasagna noodles, cooked
• 16 ounces Alfredo sauce
• 16 ounces marinara sauce
• 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Dice the cooked chicken breast into 1/2-inch pieces and place into a large mixing bowl.  Add spinach (parsley in my case), tomatoes (which I left out), ricotta, mozzarella, pepper and salt. Mix thoroughly.
2. Arrange precooked pasta sheets on a cutting board and place two or three rounded tablespoons of filling mixture down the center of each pasta sheet and carefully roll pasta around filling in a cigar fashion (I laid all 12 noodles out at once so I could make sure I got the filling evenly dispersed on all noodles).
3. Place rolled cannelloni, side by side, seam-side down, into an oven-proof shallow baking dish (I used a 9x13 sprayed with cooking spray).
4. Place Alfredo sauce and tomato sauce in a bowl and mix until well incorporated.  Pour sauce evenly over cannelloni, covering completely.
5. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over top of sauce.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Remove foil (I also added a handful of mozzarella cheese over the top at this point for good measure)and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached.  Remove from oven and serve family style.

Marsha's "Panda Express" Orange Chicken

*This recipe is low-carb if you omit or sub serving over/with rice.

Scott and I are addicted to Panda Express Orange Chicken, and so I found this great copy-cat recipe in the internet a few years back. It's a little time intensive, but the end results are GREAT! This is a pretty frequently requested recipe from my stash. We did make some changes to the original, so I have posted both versions here. Enjoy!  The picture came from the Panda Express website, and I originally got this recipe from the Top Secret Recipes website, but I have since changed it up to suit our tastes, and so this is Marsha's version.

Marsha's “Panda Express” Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 Tbl. orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/8 cup rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 7 teaspoons corn starch
• 3 tablespoons water

Chicken:

• 4 chicken breast fillets
• 1 cup ice water
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour
• 2-4 cups vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients -- except the corn starch and arrowroot -- in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil. When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat and allow it to cool a bit, uncovered.
2. Slice chicken breasts into bite-size chunks. Remove exactly 1 cup of the marinade from the pan and pour it over the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or other container which allows the chicken to be completely covered with the marinade. The chicken should marinate for at least a couple hours. Cover the remaining sauce and leave it to cool until the chicken is ready.
3. When chicken has marinated, preheat 2-inches of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet to 350 degrees.
4. Combine corn starch with arrowroot in a small bowl, then add 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until corn starch and arrowroot have dissolved. Pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken cover and remove it from heat.
5. Beat together the ice water and egg in a medium bowl. Add baking soda and salt.
6. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir with a fork just until the flour in blended into the mixture. The batter should still be lumpy.
7. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of flour on top of the batter and mix with only one or two strokes. Most of the new flour will still floating on top of the mixture. Put the remaining flour (1/2 cup) into a separate medium bowl.
8. Dip each piece of chicken first into the flour, then into the batter. Let some of the batter drip off and then slide the chicken into the oil. Fry up to 1/2 of the chicken pieces at a time for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the chicken to a rack or paper towels to drain.
9. As the chicken cooks, reheat the sauce left covered on the stove. Stir occasionally.
10. When all of the chicken is done, pour it into a large bowl, and cover with the thickened sauce. Stir gently until all of the pieces are well coated.

Top Secret Recipes' "IHOP" Corn Cake Pancakes

I love cornbread cakes, and this copy-cat recipe for IHOP is fantastic!  The picture came from the IHOP website, but the recipe came in my inbox when I subscribed to the free mailing list from Top Secret Recipes.  The recipes are only free for a little while, so you have to snatch them up quick.

"IHOP" Corn Cake Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat a large skillet or griddle to medium/low heat. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, blend eggs and sugar with electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add milk, buttermilk, and melted butter. Mix well. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with your mixer until smooth. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes. 
2. Spray skillet with non-stick spray. Spoon ¼ cup portions of the batter onto the griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until brown. Serve pancakes hot with butter and maple syrup on the side. Can freeze leftovers. Makes 16-18 cakes.

Top Secret Recipes' "IHOP" Cinn-A-Stacks

This copy-cat recipe is outstanding!  Very rich, though, so beware of the inevitable sugar high.  The picture came from the IHOP website, but the recipe came in my inbox when I subscribed to the free mailing list from Top Secret Recipes.  The recipes are only free for a little while, so you have to snatch them up quick.

"IHOP" Cinn-A-Stacks

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Sauce:

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. half and half
• 1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 Tbl. flour

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• Garnish: Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, 2 Tbl. half and half, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, add remaining table spoon half and half and stir in flour. 
2. Combine ingredients for cream cheese icing in a medium bowl. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon icing into a squirt bottle. To assemble your dish, make either pancakes or French toast how you like. Then spread about a Tbl. of cinnamon sauce on top of each piece as you stack them. A typical serving is two pancakes or two pieces of toast. Drizzle with cream cheese icing over the top and finish with a dollop of whipped cream. These are very sweet!

Copy Kat's "Olive Garden" Alfredo Sauce

This is probably one of my top ten recipes that I get asked for all the time.  If you like Alfredo sauce, I think you will LOVE this.  The list of ingredients (and fat content) should be enough to tell you how great it is!  I got this recipe YEARS ago off the Internet, and I am not totally sure where I got it from, but I suspect it came from the Copy Kat website, with my own changes added in.  The picture came from, where else but, The Olive Garden website.

“Olive Garden” Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter
• 2 Tbl. cream cheese
• 1 pint heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese*

Directions:

1. Melt butter in saucepan, add cream cheese, and when cream cheese is soft add heavy cream and seasonings to taste. 
2. Simmer, over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce reaches desired thickness (coats the back of a wooden spoon pretty well). Can take as long as 10-20 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Serve. (Keep in mind when cooking sauce that it will thicken more when cheese is added and melted.)

Marsha's Notes:

I like to use a higher quality parmesan for this, because it makes a difference in the flavor.