Sweet Onion Chowder

image courtesy real simple

6 slices bacon
2 T olive oil
4 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cans chicken broth/ 3 bouillon mixed with 4 C water
2 C mashed potatoes (could substitute frozen hashbrowns or small diced potatoes)
2 C corn kernel
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 C cream or whole milk

1. cook bacon. (Did you know you can cook bacon in a microwave?! Simply place on a microwave safe plate, and nuke for 3-4 minutes until crisp.) Blot with paper towel and set aside.

2. Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. Peel and dice onions and add as you chop. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until tender. (6 minutes-ish)

3. Add minced garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add broth/bouillon mix, stir well. Add mashed taters, corn, bay, thyme, and pepper.

4. Cover pot, raise heat to high and bring soup to boil. Meanwhile, crumble bacon. When soup comes to boil, remove from heat and take out bay leaves. Stir in cream until well combined, and serve with crumbled bacon on top! :)

You can add a little heat to this dish by adding a 1/2tsp cayenne or Korean chili powder. OR... chop up some jalapenos or Hot Korean peppers and throw those in with step 3. Leave the seeds in for heat or take out for mild pepper flavor!

This is great served with tortilla chips or french bread. You could even make homemade croutons with some stale bread to go on top with the bacon bits... and a little cheese never hurt anyone either! ;)

Recipe modified from Cheap.Fast.Good!

No-bake Desserts

Sweet Chocolate log:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-chocolate-log-10000000630131/
*you can find vanilla wafers at Home Plus in the cookie/cracker aisle

Peanut Butter Tart:

http://www.marthastewart.com/333937/peanut-butter-tart

* could use any crisp cookie for crust, cream and cream cheese at HomePlus, condensed milk at a local Asian mart. (check side streets for these, the signs are usually in English)

Allrecipes Top No-Bake Cookies:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Desserts/Cookies/No-Bake-Cookies/Top.aspx

27 no bake recipes from Martha Stewart... some ingredients might be hard to get a hold of. But feel free to check out iherb.com or nicedeli.com to see what you can get a hold of! (You'd be surprised... especially with iherb.com)

http://www.marthastewart.com/275742/no-bake-desserts/@center/276943/grilling-recipes#/281740


Espresso Cereal Bars:

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/espresso-cereal-bars-recipe/1/


TO find more No-bake desserts, cookies and treats... simply use your favorite search engine and type in "Best No-Bake Recipes" or "Best No-Bake Desserts" or even "Best No-Bake Cookies."

If you have questions on where to find ingredients, ingredient substituion ideas, or anything foodie in general... feel free to leave a comment and I will try to get back with you ASAP! :)

Southern Style Green Beans w/ Bacon

Image courtesy Deep South Dish

•3 to 4 slices of bacon
•1/4 of a small onion, coarsely chopped
•3 to 4 cups of fresh or frozen cut green beans, (I used drained canned)
•4 to 6 tiny new or 3 small potatoes
•Chicken stock, to cover (I used bouillon cubes and water)
•Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste (Don't add salt without tasting... especially if you use bouillon and canned green beans)

Instructions

Using kitchen shears, cut up the bacon directly into a large saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it begins to brown. Add the onion and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.

If using fresh or frozen beans, saute them in the cooked bacon and onion for a bit first. Cut away a strip around the center of the new potatoes or if using small red potatoes, cut them into a medium dice; add to the beans. Pour over enough chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let them low simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.


~Cook's Notes~

Amounts given are just estimates - use more or less according to your own taste. If using fresh green beans, remove the ends and snap in half or cut; rinse and set aside. Can also substitute 2 cans of cut green beans, reserving the liquid. If using canned beans, add the beans with their liquid, to the cooked bacon and onion. Add the potatoes and enough chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let them low simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Courtesy http://deepsouthdish.com

Spotlight Blog: Restaurant Knockoffs... for homesick cravings

Chipotle Recipes

Olive Garden Recipes

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Buffalo Wild Wings Sauces

Carrabba's Italian Grill Recipes

Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Hard Rock Cafe Recipes

Chili's Recipes

T.G.I. Friday's Recipes

Macaroni Grill Recipes

There are a TON of copycat recipes out there! So the next time you get the hankering for your favorite restaurant foods, just try googling the restaurant's name followed by "recipes."

Here are a few more sites that have compiled lists of copycat recipes.

cdkitchen.com

topsecretrecipes.com

copykat.com

recipes.robbiehaf.com

***I have not tried these recipes, so if you try one of the recipes, please leave a comment including the link and a review for the readers! Thanks!***

Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Syrup

2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1.Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan.
2.Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Stir.
3.Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract, and stir.
4.Allow the syrup to cool, then refrigerate the syrup in a tightly closed jar for up to a month.

Feel free to experiment! Try replacing some or all of the granulated sugar with brown sugar or raw sugar for a bit of a caramel flavor, or replace the vanilla extract with another extract like hazelnut, almond, mint, Irish creme, orange, rum or raspberry.

courtesy www.copycatrecipeguide.com

Strawberry Wine Cranberry Sauce

Image courtesy google


2 1/2 C dried cranberries
1 C frozen strawberries (no need to thaw)
3/4 C red wine (I suggest a dry wine such as shiraz, merlot or cabernet)
1/2 C sugar
water

1. Boil some water and pour over cranberries. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. This will help rehydrate the cranberries and remove the oils added during processing.
2. Drain water from berries and add to medium saucepan along with the strawberries, wine and sugar.
3. Pour water in until just covering ingredients by a little less than 1 cm. (about 1/4 inch)
4. Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes, then drop to simmer. Stir constantly.
5. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until desired consistancy. It will thicken a bit when it cools. (use fork to break up larger strawberry chunks)
6. Remove from heat a allow to cool 15 minutes minimum before serving. Can refridgerate to speed up process.

Works well as a side dish, ice cream topping, spread on toast, or served over a block of cream cheese with crackers. Be creative. Enjoy.

courtesy ovenless chef

Pumpkin Spice Syrup... for Starbucks copycat lattes.

image courtesy www.cooklikeachampionblog.com

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks or 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons pumpkin purée

Directions:

Combine water and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook until sugar has completely dissolved. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not allow mixture to come to a boil. Strain syrup through cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer into a large glass measuring cup. Transfer to bottle of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

To make a pumpkin spice latte, simply add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of syrup for each shot of espresso. For an iced latte, stir together syrup and espresso before adding desired amount of cold milk. For a hot latte, add frothed milk and stir to combine. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

makes about 1 3/4 Cups syrup... which makes about 18 single shot espresso or single bag tea lattes. :)

This keeps in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. That is almost 1 pumpkin latte a day for three weeks!... unless you are the sharing type... or the double/triple shot type! ;)

This makes great Tea Lattes too! Just fill mug half full with warm milk and half boiling water. steep tea bag for recommended time and add 1 1/2 T syrup, Yum!

courtesy http://www.cooklikeachampionblog.com

Black Beans and Rice

image courtesy allrecipes

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 1/2 cups canned black beans, drained (Home Plus)


Directions
1.In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4 minutes. Add the rice and saute for 2 minutes.
2.Add the water and bouillon, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add the spices and black beans.

Add diced tomatoes, sauted bell peppers, or jalapenos to add some more flavors! :)

Top with sour cream and cheese and devour!

Courtesy allrecipes.com

Breakfast Quesadillas

image courtesy www.lynnskitchenadventures.com

6 eggs
1/2 lb of bacon or sausage, cooked and chopped
1 to 1 1/2 cups cheese
12 tortillas (Costco, Lotte Mart, nicedeli.com)
Salsa for serving

1. Whisk eggs with 4 tablespoons of water/milk and cook in a pan, pushing the eggs around, and scrambling them.
2. Divide the cooked eggs between six of the tortillas.
3. Sprinkle the meat and cheese evenly over the eggs.
4. Top with remaining tortillas.
5. Cook in a skillet with a tad bit of oil or butter over medium heat.
6. Cook for about 2 minutes or until slightly browned on one side and then flip over and continue cooking until slightly browned and cheese has melted.
Serve with salsa and enjoy!

Courtesy Lynnskitchen
You can also try using spinach tortillas or whole wheat tortillas to add a touch of healthy! ;)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

image courtesy google

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed (Homeplus)
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes with chilis or jalapenos (Homeplus)(Salsa would also work)
1 bunch finely chopped cilantro (nicedeli.com)
1 large green onion, finely sliced
1 small red/yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin (local asia mart)
1 Tbsp olive oil, or to taste

Mix all together in bowl and serve chilled as chip dip, on tacos, or as a side with some seasoned grilled meat.

Courtesy Ovenlesschef