One of our biggest monthly expenses outside of regular household bills is eating out.  I vow every month not to spend so much on eating out at restaurants, but then I get tired, stressed, busy, etc. and always end up getting take out or running in for a “cheap” meal at a local restaurant.  With a family of 8, even eating “cheap” ends up being expensive!

Other than the convenience factor, the main reason we eat out is because we are wanting a particular dish that a restaurant offers.  I’m working on learning to prepare similar meals at home so that we can try to really start putting that money into savings.  Below are some of my favorite restaurant meals, with links to copycat recipes that can be prepared at home.

1.  Hibachi Style Fried Rice

I love me some fried rice.  I mean, LOVE it!  There is a Japanese place near my house that makes the best rice, and I’m pretty sure it’s because they add in bacon.  Bacon makes everything tasty!  Earlier this year, I decided to try and come up with my own version of their rice, and I came pretty darn close to it.  It can be a bit time consuming if you’re trying to prepare a really large amount, but it’s delicious and super cheap compared to eating out! Check out my recipe here —-> Homemade Fried Rice

2.  Chipotle.  Anything from Chipotle!

My husband and I love Chiptole’s burritos and salads, but my kids don’t really care for their food.  We usually stop in during the day when the kids are at school, but just lunch for the two of us can easily cost $20.  The website Chipotle Fan has some great Chipotle style recipes, although I have yet to try them out.  It’s on the list for this month, because those burritos sure are tasty!

3.  Whole Foods deli

I know Whole Foods isn’t a restaurant, but I love grabbing lunch from their deli counter.  Their caesar pasta salad is to die for, and they have a roasted corn salad that is amazing.  I played around with the corn salad for a few hours and came up with an inexpensive alternative that tastes almost exactly like it!  Find my recipe version here —-> Roasted Corn Salad (WF Copycat)

4.  Egg Drop Soup

Another Asian style dish, I know, but I am a big fan of Asian cuisine!  Not that yellow greasy egg drop soup, but the kind that’s made with chicken broth and is much healthier.  My favorite Chinese restaurant offers a delicious, healthier version, complete with peas, carrots, mushrooms, and mini tofu cubes.  This recipe from AllRecipes.com comes pretty close, although it doesn’t have the added veggies.  I like to add in a bit of white pepper as well, to give it a little bit of spice.

Photo credit: User ALFANN02 on Allrecipes

5.  Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Okay, I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of Red Lobster.  I find their food to be fairly bland, and way overpriced for the portions you receive. However, their biscuits are delicious!  This recipe from AllRecipes.com seems to be a pretty close copy, which means I can indulge at home without spending money on food that I really don’t care for!

Photo credit: User mominml on AllRecipes

6.  Fettuccine Alfredo

This cheesy pasta dish is delicious at almost every Italian restaurant, but the jarred sauce sold in stores just doesn’t even begin to compare.  This recipe is SO easy to make at home, with only a few ingredients to buy.  Keep in mind though, once you realize how fattening it is, you might not be so keen on eating it in the future!   Be sure to have a salad first, so that you can keep your portion sizes smaller.  I like to add in just a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice and fresh ground black pepper, and top it off with diced roma tomatoes!

Photo credit: User Dianne of AllRecipes

7.  Loaded Baked Potato Soup from O’Charley’s

This soup is creamy and delicious, and Food.com has a great copycat recipe that you can make at home.  It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough!

Photo credit: User run for your life on Food.com

8. Cajun Jambalaya Pasta from Cheesecake Factory

This pasta dish is one of my husband’s favorite meals to eat out.  I found this recipe on Tastebook recently and can’t wait to share it with him.  It’s spicy and rich, with plenty of shrimp, chicken, and peppers to pair with the pasta.

Photo credit: User Rhonette on TasteBook.com

9.  Wing Stop Lemon Pepper Wings

When I was living in San Antonio, I fell in love with Wing Stop’s lemon pepper wings.  Alright, I was pregnant at the time, so everything tasted wonderful, but they really are delicious wings!  When we moved to our new house three years ago, I was delighted to see that there was a Wing Stop less than a mile away.  Unfortunately, taking a family of 8 to eat wings can quickly cost over $60, so we don’t go there too often.  I found this recipe from Uncommon Censor recently and can’t wait to try it out!

10. Chik-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets

I love Chik-Fil-A’s nuggets (and chicken minis!) but don’t eat there very often anymore, for several reasons which I won’t get into here. This recipe from Frieda Loves Bread comes pretty close, although I would definitely recommend using peanut oil instead of canola, as there is a big difference in taste.  That, and we all know that CFA uses peanut oil for their chicken. 🙂

I recently cooked up another delicious dish at home, be sure to check out my creamy restaurant style macaroni and cheese!

Does your family spend more than you would like on eating out?  Have you ever tried to make your favorite restaurant meals at home?

This week my younger sister came to visit with her 4 month old son.  We met up at my parent’s house right before noon, and my mother made mention of the fact that she forgot to go to the store to pick up something for lunch.  One of my favorite things to do is make meals from random pantry and fridge items.  So I quickly got to work.

First I checked out the fridge and pantry shelves.

There wasn’t much in the fridge other than drinks and condiments, but I did find a bag in the freezer with one large chicken breast.  The pantry had a decent amount of canned goods to work with, so I was confident I could pull something together.

Here’s what I ended up with:

I pulled out some diced tomatoes, white beans, corn and peppers, chicken broth, rice, lime juice, and tortillas.  All the fixings for a southwestern style chicken and bean chili!  In the spice cabinet, I found some cilantro, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin.

Once I had everything together and a plan in mind, this recipe only took about 15 minutes to prepare.  Check out the recipe below!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

3 cups water

2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp cilantro

Directions:

1.  Add all ingredients to a large microwave safe bowl and cover.  Cook on high for 10 minutes.

2.  Stir and cook again for 5 for minutes.

3.  Remove from microwave and set aside.

White Bean and Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast

1 Tbs oil

If you are on Pinterest, you have most likely seen the lemon butter shrimp picture that’s been going around.  For lunch today, I made my own version, check out the recipe below!

Oven Baked Shrimp

Ingredients:
8-10 shrimp (I used jumbo deveined, shell on)
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
1/2 c. cherry tomatoes
1/2 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbs)
2-3 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbs minced garlic
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Melt butter, pour into 9″ round cake pan.
3.  Add in diced onion, garlic, and tomatoes, stir to coat in butter.
4.  Spread lemon slices around the inside of the pan.
5.  Place shrimp in single layer in pan, flipping once to coat both sides.
6.  Sprinkle with Old Bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley.
7.  Bake for 15 minutes, remove and toss with pasta to serve.

This makes an easy, delicious meal and can easily be split between two people.  You could also do an Italian style with capers, artichoke, and parmesan, or even Cajun with peppers and cayenne!  I’m going to play around with the recipe in the next few days and see how it comes out if you substitute broth for the butter, I’ll be sure to link up to that recipe as well.

Do you ever use Pinterest for dinner ideas?  What is your most recent Pinterest inspired dish?

I am always looking for ways to cut down on our food bill and dried lentils really help out a lot.  They are very inexpensive, don’t require soaking, and are easy to incorporate into a variety of meals.  Sometimes it can be challenging figuring out how to use a new ingredient, but I have found that we can easily switch them out for ground beef in a lot of dishes.  As I experiment and come up with yummy lentil dishes, I’ll post about them so you can try them out too!

The inspiration for this sloppy joe recipe came from Namely Marly.  I modified it to suit our tastes, that and I can’t stick to a recipe to save my life!  Not only is this recipe super easy, it’s also slam full of veggies and vegan!

By the way, please excuse the horrid photos. One of the mini mafia absconded with my camera and I had to use my phone. 🙁  Anyhow, on to the deliciousness!

Sloppy Joes with lentils

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lentils (about half a bag)
4 garlic cloves
2 large peppers (I used banana and bell, but any combo will do)
1 medium onion
1 1/2 c. rough chopped cabbage
2 medium carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
oil (vegetable, olive, canola, etc.)
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (REALLY adds to the flavor)
2 Tbs brown sugar

Directions:

1.  Cook lentils as directed, drain and set aside.

2.  Finely chop all vegetables.  (I’m a food processor junkie, so I just threw everything in there instead of doing it all by hand)

3.  Heat oil in a pot on med-high heat.

4.  Add in chopped vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft.

If it looks like veggie mush, you’re on the right track! 🙂

5.  Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste. (Put the diced tomatoes in the food processor for a just a few seconds if you don’t want chunks.  Literally, a few seconds, or they’ll end up like sauce)

6.  Add in all seasonings, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes.

Starting to look a little more sloppy joe-ish

Just serve it up on buns like you would a traditional sloppy joe.  We didn’t have any in the pantry, so I went with plain ol’ sliced bread, but it was still delicious.

Not only is this recipe quick and easy, it’s also loaded with good stuff.  You can really use any vegetables you have in your fridge.  I’m not one to go out and buy specific ingredients for a recipe, I just throw in whatever we have around here.  The brown sugar can be left out if you want, I just add it in because I find it helps get rid of that canned tomato taste.  The smoked paprika REALLY makes the flavor pop, it tastes completely different than regular paprika.  We ended up with sandwiches for all 8 of us, and enough leftover to make at least another 4 for lunch.  The kids were eating it straight out of the pot, so you know it was tasty!

Definitely a winner with the littles!

We have had this pesky can of apple pie filling sitting on the shelf for months.  I don’t even know where it came from.  And Eva constantly asks if she can eat it.  Lunchtime rolled around and this simple recipe came to mind.  It is delicious and inexpensive, just how I like ’em! 🙂

Sausage and Apples with Pineapple Teriyaki Rice

Ingredients:

For the rice

3 c. rice

4 1/2 c. water

1 1/2 c. pineapple juice

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbs Teriyaki sauce

For the sausage

1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices (precooked, I used beef)

1 can apple pie filling

1 large onion, diced

1/2 c. pineapple juice

1 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs canola oil

Directions:

1.  Mix all rice ingredients in a large pot on high heat.  When it starts to boil, cover loosely and turn down to low.  Leave it alone for around 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.  Set aside.

2.  Heat oil on med-high in a skillet.  Add in sausage and onions.  Cook until onions are slightly soft.

3.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cook until heated throughout.

4.  Serve over rice.

Makes 6-8 large servings.

One of our favorite quick simple dishes that works great for busy nights is my Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe.  It is literally one of those recipes where you dump the ingredients in, mix it up, and serve.  The part that takes the longest is boiling the noodles, and while those are going you can get everything else opened up and ready to go!  This is a recipe that can easily be made by a younger child that wants to be independent and helpful (my 9 year can make it all by herself) but it’s also one that my 4 and 5 year olds can “make” with my help.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

1 pound of pasta (we <3 penne)

The inspiration for this recipe came from a yummy Pinterest pic by A Nutritionist Eats.  I loved the idea but just can’t follow a recipe to save my life. 🙂  So I added in some potatoes, peppers, and onions, tweaked a few of the herbs and spices, and voila!

Ingredients:

3 c. baked, flaked salmon
3 c. shredded potato (squeeze dry)
2 eggs
1/2 c. bread crumbs
3 minced garlic cloves
2.5 T mayonnaise
1/3 c. chopped sweet bell pepper
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 tsp dried parsley
4 tsp dried dill weed
salt and pepper, as desired

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

2. Scoop out 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of mix, form into 3″ cakes.

3. Pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side (in 1 Tbsp of oil)

4. Serve with aioli (recipe below) on the side. Makes 10 large cakes.

*I used 1 lb of salmon filets from Aldi and baked them for 12 minutes at 350 before flaking. I don’t care for canned salmon, and this was ready by the time I prepped the other ingredients.

*Instead of using fresh potatoes, which can be really wet and starchy, I used frozen shredded potatoes from Aldi.

Lemon Garlic AioliMix the following together and chill while the salmon is cooking.

5 T mayonnaise
1 T lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper as desired