I believe in cloning.

Now before you start thinking I’ve finally gone off the deep end, let me clarify. I don’t believe in human cloning, however, I see no ethical, moral, or religious reasons to avoid restaurant cloning. On second thought, scratch religious. Some of these recipes border on sinful and should be accompanied by a Surgeon General’s warning that it might be hazardous for your waistline.

What is restaurant cloning, you might be asking? It’s a little-known trick that has saved me countless dollars through the years and thanks to a new find online, will save me a lot more in the future.

Have you ever eaten at your favorite restaurant chain, for example, Cheesecake Factory, Macaroni Grill, or Red Lobster, and fallen in love with a dish? Wiping your mouth at the table, you vowed that you could eat it every day and never get sick of its flavorful appeal.

That is, until you looked at the bill.

I don’t know about you, but a twenty-dollar entree x seven is a bit much for my budget. Even if I had to settle for once a week that is still $80.00 a month that could have been spent better elsewhere.

This is where restaurant cloning steps in to the rescue. Many restaurant dishes can be prepared easily in your home kitchen and for a fraction of the cost. All it takes is a few ingredients, a little courage, and the right recipe. You don’t even have to figure out the measurements.

EveryLastRecipe.com has compiled a comprehensive listing of some of the most sought-after recipes from popular restaurant chains such as Outback Steakhouse, Benihana, Cinnabon, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, Applebee’s and even Ben & Jerry’s. Due to the restructuring of CopyKat recipes, a site linked to by EveryLastRecipe, some of the links do not work. However, you can find all the CopyKat restaurant recipes at one location under the this category.

Of course, there are a few off-the-wall recipes, but for the most part, everything looks scrumptious. Although why anyone would want to clone food from Taco Bell is beyond me.

Bon Appetit!

[Hat Tip: Lifehacker]

Yesterday morning I woke up with a craving for blueberry pancakes. Pancakes are one of the easiest gluten-free breads to make and are simple to whip up for a quick treat.

These can be made with fresh blueberries, but personally I enjoy cooking with frozen instead. I find them to be juicy and delicate, two things crucial as the pancakes cook in a matter of minutes.

Melt in Your Mouth Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes

This recipe is gluten, dairy, egg and soy free.

1 cup gluten-free flour blend
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup rice milk
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla flavoring
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Nonstick spray or extra oil for griddle

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, rice milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Pour mixture into dry ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in blueberries.

Heat electric griddle or stovetop griddle pan. If the pan is not nonstick, prepare it by spraying the pan with spray or wipe it with an oiled paper towel.

Pour between 1/8-to-1/4 cup of batter onto hot griddle. When bottom side turns brown, flip pancake with a spatula.

Recipe makes about 8 medium sized pancakes.

I love baked goods. Name one of my favorite cities and I can give you a verbal essay on the pillow-soft French breads of New Orleans, the chewy bagels of New York City, the light tortillas of Houston, or the delicate pizza crusts of Chicago.

When I was first diagnosed with a wheat allergy, this was my first major roadblock. A life without pastry . . . you have got to be kidding! After the initial shock lessened, I started doing my research and headed for the kitchen. After all, when life gives you lemons make lemon bars. That is, if you can figure out what to substitute for flour.

I quickly discovered that bean flours are definitely not my thing. Garbanzo beans are delicious in a salad. Grinding them up for use as a flour makes your cookies unpleasantly beany—-a little gassy.

Tapioca starch keeps your pastries light, but after a few attempts, I realized that I was even more so allergic to tapioca than I was to wheat. I can justify taking an allergy pill for a slice of my local bakery’s cake, but taking a pill just to swallow a cake made out of potatoes, corn, rice and tapioca is not worth it.

Countless gluten-free companies offer flour blends for sale, but because of the tapioca I’m allergic to most of them. And the others (such as Pamela’s) include buttermilk, a no-no for me because of the dairy.

However, after three years of searching, I finally found a blend that bakes beautifully and tastes close to the real thing. Best of all, it is affordable, and will save you from buying expensive prepackaged mixes. You can buy white rice flour and potato starch in bulk online or at markets like Whole Foods, and although the xanthan gum is somewhat pricey, it lasts for a long time as you need only one teaspoon per batch.

All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend

This recipe is gluten, soy and tapioca free

2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a bowl. Store in an airtight container in the freezer until ready for use. Depending on your recipe, the flour may need to reach room temperature before using.

The best part was cooking my own gluten-free french fried onions. Before developing allergies, I loved French’s and often ate them in casseroles and salads. It is virtually impossible to find a gluten-free version in the stores, but after eating these homemade ones, I probably would not buy them anyway.

I plan to post the green bean casserole recipe soon, but in the meanwhile, enjoy these delicious fried snacks.

French Fried Onions

This recipe is gluten, egg, and dairy-free.

1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced with a mandoline
1 cup gluten-free flour blend
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups canola oil

In a medium bowl, mix rice milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir in onions. Let sit 10 minutes and drain well.

Combine flour and seasonings in another medium sized bowl. Heat canola oil to 350 degrees F in large saucepan. While oil is heating, dredge drained onion in flour mixture.

Drop carefully into the hot oil, 1/3 at a time. They will cook rapidly in 1 minute or less. Turn over if necessary. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let oil reheat between batches.

Enjoy!

Not surprisingly, when you assemble the whole family together under one roof, a few pranksters are bound to be in the bunch.

I’ve had my share of hilarious Thanksgiving memories, but none come close to this story.

Last year at Christmas time, my mom went to my sister’s house for the traditional holiday feast.

Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick.

She told my sister that she needed something from the store and asked if my sister wouldn’t mind going out to get it. When my sister left the house, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the mixed stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey… then re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back into the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, “You’ve cooked a pregnant bird!”

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry hysterically.

It took the entire family almost two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and although we are still finalizing our plans for dinner, one item has already been secured.

Kroger’s, for some unknown reason, sent us a coupon for a free turkey. Maybe it was because of all the thousands of dollars we contributed to their coffers over the last eleven months in food and gasoline purchases. After the summer highs of nearly $4.00 a gallon, I think a free turkey was more than warranted.

For a family of four, one turkey goes a long way . . . a very long way. This year’s poultry will stretch even farther than normal. You see, Kroger’s did not specify a size. As we have a few post-Thanksgiving luncheons on the calendar, my mother and sister walked away with the largest bird in the freezer section.

All the talk of turkey around my house reminded me of one of my favorite holiday commercials. Cleaning the turkey is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner prep (yes, I’m weird that way), so a part of me can understand this poor woman’s predicament.

Notwithstanding my food allergies, I have a horribly incorrigible sweet tooth. I am constantly trying out a new dessert recipe that I have discovered on one of the hundreds of excellent gluten-free blogs online.

As the only gluten, dairy, and egg-free resident in my household, I generally cannot eat a whole cake or batch of cookies before they go bad. Because of the alternative flour sources, gluten-free baked goods don’t always taste the same a day or two later.

I was recently craving something sweet, and it hit me that an old-fashioned dump cake would be just the thing for a Friday night treat. Fortunately, I remembered that a dump cake is simple to make gluten-free as the three main ingredients are butter, pie filling, and a cake mix.

Finding a gluten-free cake mix in the pantry was no problem, but I ran into a minor road block while looking for pie filling. So, as neccessity is the mother of invention, I made my own.

This recipe is for two miniature dump cakes. It can easily be doubled or tripled depending on your needs.

Strawberry Dump Cake for Two

1/2 cup strawberry pie filling (Gluten-free or make your own*)
1/4 cup gluten-free cake mix (I used Kinnikinnick Farms’ White Cake Mix)
1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1/4 cup pie filling each into two greased miniature pie tins. Sprinkle 1/8 cup of cake mix over each one to cover berries. Thinly slice the butter and dot on top the cake mix. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops turn light brown.

*Homemade Strawberry Pie Filling

4 large strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
2 teaspoons water

Mix strawberries, 1/4 cup water, vanilla, and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil. While the strawberries are boiling, mix corn starch with 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl. After strawberries start boiling stir in cornstarch mixture. Gently stir to keep from burning. Once the sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat.

As Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, I have started experimenting with pumpkin. The natural oils in the squash make it excellent for gluten, egg, and dairy-free baking as it helps hold your baked goods together.

I have been enjoying lots of donuts recently and after playing around with my regular baked donut recipe, I have found a tasty pumpkin adaptation.

Pumpkin Spiced Gluten-Free Baked Mini Donuts

This recipe makes 20 mini donuts. It is gluten, egg, and dairy-free.

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup* Gluten-Free Pantry Muffin Mix (You could probably use any gluten-free flour mix, but if it does not have some type of leavening agent, try adding 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
1/3 cup Sugar (You might want to add more sugar if using a regular flour mix without a sweetener)
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
Dash of Allspice
Dash of Salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup Rice Milk
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Canned Pumpkin (My brand of choice is Libby’s 100% Pure)
4 tbs Oil

*You may need to add a few tablespoons more of flour, depending on your mix. The dough should be thin, but not liquid.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, blend the wet ingredients together.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined. It should form a very soft, moist dough.

To have smooth donuts, use a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with the end snipped off to squeeze the dough into an ungreased mini donut pan. Fill the sections until just below the edge of the pan. Smooth the filled sections with a knife or spatula.

Bake for approximately 10-11 minutes. The bottom (visible part) will not be brown, but you will see brown edges around the top. Remove from oven and let pan cool for 5 minutes on baking rack before attempting to remove donuts. If donuts do not flip out of the pan, gently loosen edges with a butter knife.

After donuts completely cool, you can optionally dip them in powdered sugar, or if you prefer cinnamon sugar.

Now that fall is here, I’ve started to crave spices. Like the spices in pumpkin pie, gingerbread, eggnog, and the rest of the off-limit foods on my list.

My parents went grocery shopping today and came home with the most delectable looking cake donuts. Glazed sour cream cake donuts. Glazed sour cream give-me-a-pill and watch-me-groan cake donuts. I resisted the urge to grab one and instead starting hunting for a recipe so I could make my own.

As I’m highly allergic to animal dairy byproducts, I read a lot of vegan websites. These websites are my favorite destination when hunting a good baked goods recipe. The absence of milk, eggs, and cheese makes converting a recipe to gluten-free much easier.

During my search, I stumbled upon VeganYumYum, an amazing food blog whose author has even been featured on the Martha Stewart Show. The following recipe is based on her mini donut test kitchen tutorial.

Gluten-Free Spiced Baked Mini Donuts

This recipe makes 20 mini donuts. It is gluten, egg, and dairy-free. You can find the pumpkin adaptation here.

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup* Gluten-Free Pantry Muffin Mix (You could probably use any gluten-free flour mix, but if it does not have some type of leavening agent, try adding 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
1/3 cup Sugar (You might want to add more sugar if using a regular flour mix without a sweetener)
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
Dash of Salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup Rice Milk
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
4 tbs Oil

*You may need to add a few tablespoons more of flour, depending on your mix. The dough should be thin, but not liquid.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, blend the wet ingredients together.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined. It should form a very soft, moist dough.

To have smooth donuts, use a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with the end snipped off to squeeze the dough into an ungreased mini donut pan. Fill the sections until just below the edge of the pan. Smooth the filled sections with a knife or spatula.

Bake for approximately 10-11 minutes. The bottom (visible part) will not be brown, but you will see brown edges around the top. Remove from oven and let pan cool for 5 minutes on baking rack before attempting to remove donuts. If donuts do not flip out of the pan, gently loosen edges with a butter knife.

After donuts completely cool, you can optionally dip them in glaze and sprinkle with decorations.

Glaze:
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 tbs Rice Milk
1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Combine all ingredients in bowl and whisk until smooth.

Bon Appetite!

I confess, I believe the invention of Really Simple Syndication should be ranked as one of the greatest inventions of the technological age. For those you who have not discovered this lovely little gem which helps keep the information world going round and round, check out this handy informative guide to RSS at On the Baseline. Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to OTB. (End of shameless plug)

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be giving a personal tour of my RSS reader. Shall we start with one of my favorite subjects, food?

Aaress’ Favorite Food Websites

I’m not sure what I love about this website more—the pictures or the recipes. While the author is a self-professed amateur, I wholeheartedly beg to differ. This woman clearly knows her baking powder from her baking soda.

Word to the wise: Do not, I repeat DO NOT read this blog when you are on a diet. You will gain weight just by looking at the recipes.

This site is a new addition to my RSS reader, but already I have been impressed by its content. The author, a seventeen-year-old, is quite adventuresome in the kitchen. After all, do you know many teenagers who willingly tackle chocolate eclairs?

GFFR is exactly what it claims—Gluten-free food reviews. While it won’t appeal to the general populace, it has saved my bacon more than once as I’ve tried to differentiate between the hordes of disastrous and decadent GFF foods on the market.

Homesick Texan
www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com

Visit Homesick Texan and prepare to be amazed. This site ranks as my all-time favorite food blog, and I have lost count of all the recipes I have tried. This is old-fashioned home cooking—and the art of food journalism—at its very finest.

Favorite recipes: Biscuits | Puffy Taco Shells | Hello Dolly Bars | Gingerbread Pancakes

Simply Recipes
www.elise.com/recipes

Simply Recipes was the first food blog that I subscribed to and it has since become a favorite. Elise Bauer, the owner of the website, is one of the most distinguished food bloggers online and continues to expand her website weekly with delicious—and simple—recipes.

Bon Appetit!

This article is part one in the “What’s In My RSS Feed Reader” series. You can read the second part here.