Family schedules are often hectic. You might turn to convenience foods and eating out to make your day less chaotic. Your family probably even has their own personal favorite foods from restaurant menus. Have you ever wondered what ingredients were used in meals at your favorite fast food or retail chain restaurant? You can replicate and enjoy the taste of your favorite restaurant dishes at home.

Copycat recipes aren’t the exact secret recipes, but they taste very close. They’re close enough to the “real deal” that they are sometimes called “kitchen clones”. The recipes often use common ingredients and are simple to make. They can help a frugal family feel less deprived for choosing to eat and cook at home versus dining out. Not only can you re-create restaurant meals and control the ingredients, but you can save money by making it yourself.

Semi-Homemade

Semi-homemade meals are not created entirely from scratch, more specifically, these are recipes that contain a convenience food, but aren’t entirely made with prepackaged, convenience products. It’s a combination of fresh and store-bought prepared ingredients. This is a decent alternative to fast food. These recipes can be your “secret shortcuts”, but beware that they tend to not be as healthy as from scratch, and they will often be more costly than from scratch too.

Realistically, many people cook this way on a regular basis. Ever use a can of campbell soup in a recipe? All in all, these recipes can be quick and still help you to avoid fastfood and eating out. WARNING: Sandra Lee is not for everyone, but keep in mind that neither is Rachel Ray. You can decide for yourself, if you like her suggestions, or simply create your own semi-homemade meals.

You can also try the following semi-homemade recipe:

Butterscotch Brownies

• 18.25 oz yellow cake mix

• 1/3 cup butter softened

• 3 eggs

• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• 1 cup butterscotch chips

• 1 14 oz can condensed milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix cake mix, butter and 1 egg at medium speed until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly in 9×13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with pecan and chips. In another bowl mix condensed milk, 2 eggs and vanilla extract. Pour evenly over first layer. Bake 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Cool.
source: recipezaar

Mix it Up

It’s so easy to make your own copycat dressings, spices, and mixes. Homemade mixes created ahead of time are a handy option to store-bought.

To make copycat spices, you can look at the ingredients on the containers of your favorite spices. To blend spices, you can use a coffee grinder. As an additional incentive, think about creating spice blends and giving them as gifts.

Mock KFC Spice

• 2 tablespoons salt

• 2 tablespoons celery salt

• 2 tablespoons dry mustard

• 2 tablespoons msg

• 2 tablespoons meat tenderizer

• 1 tablespoon seasoning salt

• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

• 1 tablespoon onion salt

• 1 tablespoon marjoram

• 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper

• 2 teaspoons sweet basil

• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Recipe for fried chicken

• Chicken

• 2 cups of milk

• egg

• 2 cups flour

• mock kfc chicken seasoning

• paper bags

Wash chicken and set it aside. Combine the milk and egg in a bowl. Combine the dry ingredients into a paper bag. Dip chicken pieces one at a time into the “batter” and then one at a time.

Put in the paper bag and shake. Melt enough crisco to equal 1/2 of oil in your pan. Heat the oil to 360 degrees. Place chicken in and don’t crowd. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes on one side, then turn and do 15-20 minutes on the other side.

Can remove the lid and lower the heat to 350 as soon as you can see the chicken has started frying well. After taking chicken out, place on paper bags to soak up grease and immediately salt lightly.

Taco Seasoning Mix

• 2 teaspoons instant onion, Minced

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon dried red peppers, Crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon instant garlic, Minced

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, Ground

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Spoon mixture onto a 6-inch square of aluminum foil and fold to make airtight. Store in a cool, dry place and use within 6 months. Makes 1 package (about 2 T) of mix.

Taco Filling: Brown 1 lb lean ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat; drain the excess grease. Add 1/2 cup water and the seasoning mix. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes filling for 8 to 10 tacos.

Mixes such as pancake/waffle mix are a cinch and it doesn’t take much longer to mix than using Bisquik.

Pancake Mix

• 1 1/4 cups sifted flour

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 beaten egg

• 1 cup of milk

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix and fry on greased skillet or griddle

Belgian Waffles

• 1 cups flour

• 2 T sugar

• 1 T baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3 eggs beaten

• 1 1/2 cups milk

• 1/4 cup butter melted

Mix and pour into greased belgian waffle maker.
Note: You can add more milk if it’s too thick for your liking.

Homemade Syrup

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup corn syrup

• 3 drops maple extract

• 3 drops vanilla extract

Boil sugars and water together. Add corn syrup and extracts to taste.

Imagine how impressed your family and friends will be with your fresh homemade salad dressing and condiments.

Ranch Dressing Mix

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons dried minced garlic

• 8 teaspoons dried minced onion

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons parsley flakes

Directions: Combine all ingredients. Store in a baggie or airtight container. When ready to make dressing, combine 1 tablespoon mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk.

Homemade Mayo

• 1 large egg

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons vinegar

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions: Place egg, vinegar, sugar, mustard and salt in blender or mixer. Mix 1 minute. Very slowly add oil while mixer is running. Mix together cornstarch and water in saucepan and cook stirring constantly until thick. Add this mixture to blended mixture and mix high speed until smooth. Refrigerate.

Homemade Ketchup

• 6 ounce can tomato paste

• 1/3 cup tap water

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 pinch cloves

• 1 pinch allspice

• 1/8 cayenne pepper

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp cumin

Mix with whisk or mixer and refrigerate. See also: for cooked version

If eating out is one section of your budget that you’re trying to pare down, then give these tips a try. It can be fun to try copycat recipes, and it can help with the cooking doldrums too. You don’t even have to leave your kitchen or wait to be seated. Although, not all are the perfect solution when you’re pressed for time, they can help stop any cravings you have for restaurant foods.

Additional reading:

http://www.copykat.com

http://www.semihomemade.com

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com

http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/Copycat.html

http://www.recipelink.com/copycat.html

From frugalvillage forums:

Make it Yourself

Kitchen Clones

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!