Installment 2 of Copycat week! The first installment was stuffed chicken marsala! Chicken Bellagio is hands-down one of my favorite meals of all time! And I eat a lot, so that should tell you something. This recipe is another one that shows you can have all the comforts and cravings of restaurant meals at home! Courtesy of the Cheesecake Factory. As far as I know I haven’t heard or seen of it anywhere else, so I’m going with that. In fact, it’s about the only dish (other than happy hour apps) that I order when I go there. It’s a huge portion,…
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Last week was one heck of a stressful week. I’m sure everyone can agree. But I don’t want to talk politics…I want to declare this week…COPYCAT WEEK! Bum, bum bum! No, you’re not allowed to just repeat what I say–repeat what I say. I mean Restaurant copycat week. I’m going to share some of my favorite, make-at-home restaurant recipes. I won’t spoil the surprise, but the three recipes I have planned to shareare from the following: Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, and Panera! I’ll leave you to guess exactly which recipes for the other two. But this Stuffed Chicken Marsala is…
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These little pillow puffs are deeelicious! But they do take a long time! For those of you who have ever tried to make gnocchi before, I’ll bet you already know this. But somehow I always manage to forget, especially because the ingredient list is so minimal, I think they’re a breeze to make! But when you boil them in multiple batches, and run out of space on your cutting board to continue rolling and cutting them up, it gets a little tedious and you remember just how long they take to make. So these bad boys will take you close to an…
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I give you: the everyday thanksgiving sandwich–named for the swap of chicken instead of turkey in this awesome fall-themed sandwich. And just in case you needed that extra push, this sandwich is about as easy as can be. Go and make this crockpot chicken and stuffing I posted last week, and then when you have too many leftovers and are bored with it–because let’s be honest, slow cookers lend themselves to that–you have this sandwich to look forward to. Slow cookers usually involve making a ton of a dish, and then no matter how delicious, you get sick of eating it…
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With fall right around the corner, this is the ultimate comfort food to keep in your arsenal. Chicken and stuffing, and even green beans so that you have a full meal right out of the crock pot! It’s basically a variety of thanksgiving, but since it’s chicken and all, you won’t be encroaching on the traditional meal, so you can rest easy. Plus there’s that whole set-it-and-forget-it aspect, as well as the fact that crock pots are the best aromatic around for your home. This is a simple recipe, with a whole 6 ingredients, but since one of those is water,…
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This weekend we had another game night: read D&D session, because we’re cool. =D It’s been a couple months since our last one, because summer always seems to get crazy busy for everyone and we have to find a weekend where all 5 of us are in town and not busy. But at least for you that means–more recipes! We’ve started doing a pot luck so everyone contributes, but since I like cooking I’ll usually make one or two things that I’ve been meaning to try out. Other recipes I’ve made before include mediterranean dip, or caramelized bacon onion dip ,…
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Up front: this recipe has nothing to do with me! It came completely and utterly from T, and I’m not actually sure if he pulled the idea off the intermanets, or came up with this tasty concoction on his own! My role in making this was twofold: 1) make the garlic mayo, and 2) grate the cheese. That’s it! My boy doeeees know how to take care of me in the food department. He even made a take on roasted caesar broccoli swapping out the caesar dressing for Italian dressing! T’s parents would be impressed–thinking about vegetables all by himself! And everything turned…
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I hope that a lot of things on my blog look tasty. But if you’re feeling ambitious, THIS IS THE RECIPE FOR YOU. Note that with all the different components, it’s not really what I would consider an “easy” recipe. It’s definitely less stressful if tackled with a kitchen partner, or having made some of the ingredients in advance. A bunch of components can be made for other recipes earlier in the week, so this can be an awesome clean out the fridge recipe. Make the juicy lucy burger earlier in the week and save up the bacon jam. Make a tasty salami…
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I feel like I’ve been on a spicy kick recently. Between my jalapeño popper bread and trying some spicy BBQ sauces at Smoqued in Chicago (see my culinary adventure), I’ve been eating a bit more spicy food than I normally do, and I made buffalo mac ‘n cheese for dinner tonight! So I’m coming up in the spice world, apparently. I like this recipe because it’s really easy and simple, adapted from andiemitchell.com Perfect for making around playing Pokemon Go! Hahaha, yes, I am newly obsessed with the game, like pretty much everyone everywhere. I got a sweet vaporeon last…
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This was the third and final recipe from blue apron! And definitely a keeper. I want to make this for my mom–a little less on the spice for her though! She loooooves chicken wings, and I’ve always been hesitant to try making them. Somehow I always assume they’re hard to make, but this recipe was surprisingly easy! I have one other recipe from a friend who made some really great wings for a party, and I loved them. It was a great recipe, but it was a fried chicken wings recipe, so it involved a lot of spices and flour and oil.…
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I will say, now that we have a dog, I feel guilty about using my crock pot. Not enough to stop, since I know we feed Kenichi well, but it must be some form of humane torture to have the house smelling like chicken all day and not even have the consolation that you’ll get some later. Poor pup. (I don’t feel that bad for you, you little spoiled ball of cuteness.) But this recipe is a great make-ahead recipe. Perfect to make a big batch of on the weekend, and slap together a few sandwiches the day before, or…
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Here’s your basic end-all be-all shredded chicken recipe! Keep an eye out for recipes using this baby–first up: buffalo chicken wrap! This is perfect to make a big batch, and then use it for various recipes throughout the week!