Copycat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

Good morning!

Kenn was gone for two weeks in January; he doesn't do well with a lot of cheese, so I don't do many recipes for both of us with cheese. While he was gone, I wanted SOUP. and I wanted broccoli cheese soup. I really would have loved to do a bread bowl for it, too, but I was actually being really good. :D

This recipe fo copycat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup comes from Budget Savvy Diva.

This is a REALLY rich soup. I would say the recipe is a YES, PLEASE - but I can't say I would eat it for more than two days in a row. Because it's so rich. And decadent. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day - BE BLESSED!!

Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes

Welcome to Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Kenn and I are gone for a bit, but you don't have to miss out on my reviews this time. You're on my TO DO list before I leave! :D

Today's review is this recipe for Copycat IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes from Raining Hot Coupons.

This is definitely a YES, PLEASE! recipe. I used pumpkin puree that I made from a sugar pumpkin; it was a little funny that it only needed a little for the recipe, but I did it, anyway. :D

They were really nicely spiced, and VERY fluffy. I halved the recipe because Kenn was gone - and because he refuses to believe he actually likes things with pumpkin in it (although he does! :D). Mom had one, and she really liked them!

I probably put a little more cinnamon in than it called for. (OK. I KNOW I did. :D ) They were REALLY good, and very easy. I think you should put these on the menu for sometime soon! :D Ooooh, how fun to do these for breakfast, then go to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard! It would be a perfect fall day!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a wonderful day, dear friend. Be BLESSED!

"Outback" Black Bread: Copycat

Happy Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Are you staying WARM, people?!??! :D

Today's recipe would be a good recipe to try today - what's better when it's below freezing outside than a warm loaf of homemade bread?! It's "Outback" Black Bread: Copycat from Freida Loves Bread.

Now, first let me tell you: finding caramel coloring locally is nearly impossible. I put a bottle on my Amazon wish list and got it for Christmas. One bottle will last me a long, LONG time - it's huge! So you might want to consider splitting a bottle with a friend or five...

When I finally had all the ingredients in one place, I made this bread. It's a YES, PLEASE!

Mine made two whole loaves and one tiny one. I love having things like this in the freezer, for when someone I care about needs a meal delivered. So we cut into the tiny loaf, and then one of the big ones - and I put the other loaf in the freezer as soon as it cooled, because we really did love this bread! :) My mom is still mentioning how GOOD it was... :D

Now, I didn't use the cornmeal. I sprinkled oats on top of the loaf before it baked, instead. I have to be in the right mood for the grittiness of cornmeal. :) The oats were a nice textural contrast without being too much so.

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a WONDERFUL day! Let me know if you try this recipe! :) Be BLESSED!!!

Doubletree Hotel Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Good morning! How are you today? I'm sorry it's Thursday, not Wednesday - the day just kind of ran away from me. :) (I had PILES of laundry to do!!!)

So I wanted to make Kenn some chocolate chip cookies. He's been working a LOT, and I like to have little treats for him when he comes home. He fell in love with my chocolate chip cookies before he fell for me, so I know I can make him happy with them. :) And I wanted to try a new recipe. So I tried these Doubletree Hotel Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies from Joyful Momma's Kitchen.

I've only stayed at a Doubletree once in the last few years; they don't tend to fit into our bargain-basement budget. :) I do remember the cookies, however - and these are definitely pretty darned close.

We gave them a YES, PLEASE! - I used my largest Pampered Chef cookie scoop, so the recipe made just over two dozen cookie balls. Because you chill them, I was able to only cook off a few - I don't need to be eating cookies, and I will if there are lots!!! - and froze the rest, to cook off as Kenn wants them.

Every bite has chocolate - if you look at the recipe, not only are there lots of regular chocolate chips, there are also mini chips. Yes, LOTS of chocolate. I might do this recipe with pecans next time, although they MIGHT make the cookie too rich.

OK, I'm outta here! It's flooding around us today; please pray for everyone's safety. Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!!

Copycat Recipe: Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Welcome to MONDAY! :D Did you have a good weekend? Are you ready for a new month?! Can you BELIEVE it's APRIL!?!? WOW. Hopefully, Kenn and I are in Oregon, perhaps at a friend's house. :) I'm hoping to have some pictures to show you of food we ate along the way, but I'm not promising anything - we're on a TIGHT budget.

ANYWAY. :D This copycat recipe is from one of my favorite bloggers, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

I can't wait. These are DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, were these WONDERFUL! And the amazing thing is there's no garlic IN them. Just in the buttery blend you put on top after they bake - and man, are they good. Kenn's still mentioning them to me! :D

I halved the recipe, because I figured a)we didn't need more than a half batch, and b)we'd eat them all if we had more, and c)they'd be best fresh.

Oh, my friend. Were they ever WONDERFUL. And so inexpensive - the most expensive thing was the CHEESE!!! Warm, melty, garlicky, crusty on the outside and so incredibly tender on the inside, and NO CHEMICALS. No Bisquick. Everything's from the pantry.

Plan these into your menus, folks. I am not even kidding. These are DEFINITELY going on my FAVORITE RECIPES board, and will get served a lot when we're on the beach. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Try something new!

Copycat Recipe: Olive Garden's Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

It's FRIDAY!!!! How's your week been? Do you have big plans for your weekend? If you're in middle Tennessee, come to Lamplighter's Theater Company and see LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC. You'll be out in an hour and a half, and it's a really sweet story - bring your sweetheart!

Anyway! This is a recipe for Olive Garden's Chicken & Gnocchi Soup from one of my favorite blogs, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. :D And I'll tell you now, it's a DEFINITE yes, PLEASE! for my whole family!!

I used organic, free-range chicken stock from Trader Joe's; I bought some around Christmas, and Kenn used it in his chicken soup when he had a horrendous toothache. I was impressed with how rich it was, so I bought four more quarts - and we used them all within 10 days. :D So there's an extra review for free! :D

This is a wonderfully healthy soup, really; with all the garlic and spinach, it's really good with vitamins. I didn't use half-and-half, because I didn't have any. :D I used 1% milk with a scant 1/2 cup heavy cream. But it was just wonderful; the longer it cooks, the thicker the broth gets. I used Cornish game hen meat we had in the freezer; cooking it again in the soup made it so tender. YUM. It's cool in this room while I'm writing this review, and it's making me wish I had a big bowl of it right here with me. :D The next time I make this, I'm going to do copycat bread sticks, too. Ooooooh......
:D

OK, I'm outta here. SO much to do this weekend!!! Don't forget to leave a comment to win on this blog post!!! (Read it for details!)

BE BLESSED!!!

Copycat: Cafe Rio's Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's FRIDAY! :) Are you ready for some weekend?!?!? :)

Today's recipe is for a copycat of a place I've never heard of, Cafe Rio. If you have one near you, what do you think of their food? Anyway. :D The website that brings you this recipe is the same as Wednesday's, Favorite Family Recipes - because that pico de gallo I reviewed Wednesday is in this soup!

This is one of the meals I made while my parents were visiting my sister. I don't think they'd like it much, but I may be wrong. Maybe it's just Dad who wouldn't like it. :D Because we did! It gets a YES, PLEASE! - except the leftovers, not so much.

This is an assembled soup, which made it nice because I could do prep work the day before - like making the pico, baking the chicken and freezing what I didn't want to use for another meal. And it's a healthy soup - lots of fresh vegetables, not too high in sodium, chicken.... It's pretty, too! :)

When I reheated the chicken to put into the soup bowls, I ladled in some broth - with all the spices, etc., in the broth, it gave the seasoning to the chicken I wanted. I added a little cumin to the chicken, too, but couldn't find any cayenne pepper in the grocery the day I went. That was the strangest thing...! And I didn't use any taco seasoning; Kenn doesn't like it, and I didn't want to buy a package that we weren't going to use all of it, anyway. :)

The tortilla strips absolutely made this soup. Well, for ME, anyway. :D I've never made them fresh before, and oooooooh, were they good just out of the oil and salted. :D I stored them in a paper bag, so it would absorb the extra oil and they would stay crispy.

This will probably be a soup I make when we have people over on the beach; I can get almost everything ready the day before, and keep the broth and beans in a crock pot while we're doing things on the beach. :) It's Kenn's idea of what food should be: fresh and flavorful.

And I'll make extra tortilla strips next time. ;)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Enjoy your weekend - and let me know if you try anything new!!

Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli

Good Monday Morning! :) Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new? I love trying new things - it breaks the monotony a little of "What's for dinner?" :D

Today's recipe is the fried ravioli I promised you last week, from Easy Restaurant Recipes. It's supposed to be the toasted ravioli from Olive Garden.

Now, then. What I did was took those wanton wrapper ravioli I made from the review post last week and put them in the freezer, uncooked. When I took them out of the freezer, I should have immediately separated them - they stuck together a little bit when I tried to do it later. But they still worked beautifully for this recipe.

I was also in a hurry, and didn't read the entire recipe before I started; I combined all the dry ingredients, instead of having two breading mixes. And it still turned out well. :D

This recipe got a huge YES, PLEASE! from our pastor and his wife, who were our dinner guests the night I tried the recipe. :D They earned me an incredible "The girl can cook!" review from our pastor. :D The sauce, again, was Prego®; it was their Very Veggie sauce, so I snuck extra veggies in on Pastor Ronnie. :D I know that I can make these for him any time I wish, and he'll be THRILLED! LOL!

I really liked them, too - this picture doesn't do them justice, because they were pretty cold by now. But even Kenn loved them; he finished these up the next day for his lunch. And he's not a huge Italian fan!

I hope you try them out the next time you've got some time. They're well worth the effort, and are obviously a crowd-pleaser. :D Let me know if you do try them!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Copycat Recipe for Cracker Barrel's Hash Brown Casserole

Good morning! How was your weekend? Did you make anything new? Or did you make as little as possible, to not add any more heat to your world? MAN, has it been hot! :) I'm SO grateful for air conditioning!

I did make the Meatball Bubbles again, for a friend's family with three little ones. I haven't heard how they liked them, but they sure turned out wonderfully again. I would DEFINITELY have eaten them! :D

ANYWAY. You can find the recipe for this at Budget Savvy Diva; she's got a great blog! I follow her on FaceBook, too. :D

I made this recipe on the beach, when we had the house in February. I don't remember what main dish I served it with. Hmmm. Let me go see if I can find it.... No, I found which day I made it, but not what I served it with. :D I DO know we ate it for two different meals.

I didn't tweak a thing on it! :D It's DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE! rating; really simple to make, gooey cheesy goodness. I actually think it was better the second time; I warmed it up in the oven, not in the microwave, because I had plenty of time. I don't eat the Cracker Barrel version enough to say whether it's a true copycat recipe or not - my favorite things at Cracker Barrel are all carb-heavy, so I try not to eat them all together. :D But it is a wonderful side dish, full of comfort and flavor. And it makes a LOT.

Have you found something you'd like me to try? Or have you found a recipe that's wonderful, and you think I should try, too? Let me know! I'd love to! :) And let me know if you try anything I've reviewed! I'd love to know your thoughts.

Have a wonderful day! Be blessed!