Copycat Recipes – favfamilyrecipes (2024)

(re-post of original post 9/5/08) This is a MUST TRY. There are few things I love more than Nothing Bundt Cakes. They are pricey, but worth it. If you don’t have a Nothing Bundt Cakes nearby the next best thing is to make your own. I have tried my hand at several bundt cakes and this one (so far) is my favorite!

1 pkg. devils food cake, German chocolate cake, or chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
3-4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bunt cake pan (cooking spray works best). Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 mins. Remove from pan. (I think it tastes best if you put it on a serving plate, wrap it well in Saran Wrap, and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting and serving..) In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar (start with 2 cups then keep adding more until it is nice and thick). That’s it!

• Comments30 Comments
• CategoriesCake, Chocolate, Copycat Recipes, Dessert

I love this fondue. It is one of my favorites at Melting Pot and I nailed it on the head (with a lot of help from my waiter.. he was nice enough to pretty much hand the recipe to us last time we were there). My husband and I do a fancy Christmas candlelight dinner each year and this is what we made for part of it this year. It was perfect. I am telling you, this IS the recipe.

3 oz. vegetable broth
appx. 1-2 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
appx. 1-2 oz. artichoke hearts, chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 1/2 oz. Butterkäse cheese* (if you can’t find this, you can substitute Farmer’s Cheese or Romanian Cream Cheese.. if you can’t find these either, see the recipe below to make your own “fake” Butterkäse.)
2 1/2 oz. Fontina cheese
1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
dash Tabasco sauce

Heat vegetable broth in fondue-type unit or similar cooking pot. When hot (do not bring to a boil) add spinach, artichoke hearts, and garlic and mix well. Combine Butterkäse and Fontina and add a little bit at a time to spinach/artichoke mixture, stirring constantly until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in Parmesan cheese and Tabasco sauce. Serve with french bread pieces and/or lightly steamed vegetables.

*Fake Butterkäse (Keep in mind, the fake really isn’t quite as good so try your hardest to find the real Butterkäse. Only use this recipe if you are desperate and truly can’t find it anywhere):
Mix 1/2 brick (4oz) of cream cheese with 1/4 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 tablespoon of sour cream.. you would only use 2 1/2 oz. of this so a LITTLE more than half of what this recipe would make.

• Comments4 Comments
• CategoriesAppetizer, Copycat Recipes, Dips

Last year my sister introduced me to Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice. It instantly became my holiday drink of choice. I would go to Starbucks all the time on cold, snowy days to get it. The downside was… it was burning a hole in my pocket (Starbucks is expeeennnsive)! Finally I decided to ask the girl at Starbucks how they make it. She said she couldn’t tell me but I could watch her. So she did it all right in front of me. When I asked her how much syrup is in one pump she said “it is supposed to be 1/4 oz. but it can vary slightly”.. that was all I needed to know.

So then I did some math. 1oz. = 2 Tbsp. so we can figure that .25oz = 1/2 Tbsp. The Starbucks people put 3 pumps of syrup in a 12oz cup, making it 1 1/2 Tbsp per 12oz of apple juice. To simplify it further… 2/3 of 12oz. is 8oz (or 1 cup) and 2/3 of 1 1/2 Tbsp is 1 Tbsp. Sooooooo, for each cup of cider you simply add 1 Tbsp. of syrup. Easy enough right? See, MOM, I didn’t waste ALL of my time goofing off in school 😉

2 c. apple juice
2 Tbsp. Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Syrup (buy it straight from Starbucks for about $7. It will last you a very very very long time. Totally worth it.)
Whipped cream
Caramel topping

Combine apple juice and syrup. Warm to desired heat (I did it in a hot chocolate maker and it turned out perfect. I loved the “whipped” taste it added. You could possibly try it in a blender for the same effect.. just be careful if it’s really hot). Top with whipped cream and caramel topping.

• Comments9 Comments
• CategoriesCopycat Recipes, Drink, Holiday

When we were little we always considered it a treat to go to Sizzler. My Dad would take us there on special occasions. As kids, we all loved Sizzler… but now, it takes some convincing to go. I know now that the reason we loved Sizzler so much was because it was something special we shared with our Dad… not the food. When we went, I would always order the Malibu chicken. I loved it then but now I think my version is much much better (for starters I don’t use frozen chicken patties). The sauce is Emily’s creation that she uses for Cap’n Crunch Chicken. It tastes so much better than the plain mayo-mustard sauce that Sizzler uses. Anyway, this recipe is for you, Dad. Thanks for always making us feel special and taking us on dates to Sizzler. 🙂

3 egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 Tbsp. butter
1 c. Panko bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
½ Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
4 slices black forest ham
4 slices Swiss cheese

Creole Mustard Sauce:
2 tablespoons Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Mix together and chill in refrigerator.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with garlic. Place chicken and egg mixture in a large Ziploc bag, squeeze out all the air and seal tightly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Mix together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dip marinated chicken in crumb mixture. Place coated chicken in baking dish, and pour remaining egg mixture over the top. Bake for 15 min on each side or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Top each piece of chicken with ham and slice of Swiss cheese. Place back in the oven for about 5 min or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and serve with Creole Mustard Sauce.

**These also make GREAT sandwiches or wraps the next day, just cut it into strips**

• Comments5 Comments
• CategoriesChicken, Copycat Recipes, Main Dish

This is my personal version of the “Indonesian Peanut Saute” from Noodles & Co. It turned out just like it! It got my hubby’s stamp of approval. In fact, he said “this is my favorite Thai noodle dish I have ever had.. even better than Noodles & Co.”
(This makes quite a bit, probably easily feeds 4-6.)

1-2 Lbs. chicken, cut into thin strips
vegetable oil (to saute)
1 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce (we just found this at our local grocery store. Click here.)
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
3-4 shakes soy sauce
salt & pepper (to taste)
16 oz. (1 pkg.) linguine noodles
**peanut sauce (see below)
peanuts
2-3 limes, sliced

The following are all to taste, add as much or little as you want (If you do lots of veggies, I would recommend making extra sauce)
-shoestring carrots (I just used the packaged kind)
-broccoli florets, chopped
-green onion
-peanuts (chopped)
-bean sprouts

In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil, Sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, salt & pepper. While chicken is cooking, prepare the linguine (to al dente) and make the peanut sauce. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the skillet and wrap in foil to keep warm. Re-oil the skillet, add vegetables and saute (except for the bean sprouts, add those a few minutes before serving so they are still nice and crunchy and don’t get overcooked). Add the chicken and bean sprouts to the skillet, cover, and reduce heat. Drain noodles and toss with a little olive oil (to keep the noodles from drying out and sticking together). Now there are 2 ways you can finish the dish: 1. mix the sauce with the noodles and TOP with veggies & chicken (this is what we did) OR 2. you can add the noodles and sauce to the skillet with the vegetables and toss until everything is well coated with sauce. Garnish with peanuts and limes.

**SAUCE:

1 c. chicken broth
6 Tbsp. (heaping) creamy peanut butter
2-4 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce — more or less depending on how hot you like it
3 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well blended.

• Comments16 Comments
• CategoriesAsian, Chicken, Copycat Recipes, Main Dish, Pasta, Thai

This is my copycat recipe of the White House Grill’s Spring Bowl. The White House Grill is a small Mediterranean restaurant in Post Falls, ID. If you know anything about the White House Grill, you will know that you can’t come within 10 feet of it without smelling like garlic the rest of the day but oh man all their food is TASTY! This is definitely my favorite dish of theirs. If you like garlic.. you will love this recipe! (I, personally, think this recipe is right on with the restaurant’s recipe. If you are from the area, I’m excited to see how you think it compares!)

1 bottle Lawry’s (or any) lemon pepper marinade
2 chicken breast halves
lemon pepper
1 onion, diced
1 medium-sized zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. garbanzo beans
12-15 cherry (or grape) tomatoes
feta cheese
Kalamata olives

For the rice:
1 c. long-grain, white rice
2 c. water
3 Tbsp. olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp. lemon zest (or to taste)
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed (add more if you dare)
1/2 tsp. pepper
salt (to taste)

Marinate chicken breast halves in lemon pepper marinade for at least an hour (sealed tightly in a plastic Ziploc bag works best). Remove chicken and discard marinade. Place chicken in a 9×13 glass baking dish and sprinkle with lemon pepper on both sides. Bake at 350-degrees for about 35 min or until juices run clear and chicken is completely cooked through. While chicken is cooking, heat a little bit of oil in a large skillet. Add diced onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and garbanzo beans. Saute until onions become clear. Add tomatoes and saute an additional minute or so until tomatoes become hot.

Chop up cooked chicken into smaller pieces (at the restaurant they cut up the chicken into little cubes.. I would normally do that too but for the sake of a prettier picture I cut the chicken into strips) and stir in with sauteed veggies.

For the rice:
Cook rice with water according to package instructions (or in a rice cooker). After the rice is cooked, combine remaining ingredients (from olive oil on…) and pour slowly over rice while fluffing with a fork. Add more lemon juice a little at a time if needed.

Put a scoop or two of rice on a plate (or in a bowl). Add sauteed veggies and chicken (at White House Grill, they just kind of toss everything together and put it over the rice, I know the picture above is more layered.. I just did that because I thought it looked prettier.. it all tastes the same..) Top each bowl with about 2 Tbsp. feta cheese (or to taste). Garnish with Kalamata olives.

• Comments7 Comments
• CategoriesChicken, Copycat Recipes, Light and Tasty

I LOVE Winger’s sauce and I crave it all the time. I like to put it on grilled chicken, chicken kabobs, or just dip popcorn in it. Add a little ranch to the sauce to make Winger’s Creamy Amazing Sauce and put it on salads! You can’t go wrong with this sauce! Click HERE for our version of Winger’s Sticky Fingers recipe!

Wings:
1 c. flour (I like to use Wondra flour but regular flour is great too)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch salt
20 (or so) chicken wings
oil for deep frying

Sauce:
1/3 c. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce… no other sauce will taste as good)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water

For the wings:
In a bowl mix together the flour, cayenne and salt. Place chicken wings in a large bowl and toss with flour mixture until they are evenly coated (or you can do it the Shake n’ bake way and put it all in a large bag, do 5 or so wings at a time so they get evenly coated). Cover bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

(Sauce): Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp before adding to wings OR prepare ahead of time and refrigerate. The wings turn out best if you don’t pour warm sauce over them. You want it nice and thick.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add sauce mixture and stir together.

• Comments5 Comments
• CategoriesAppetizer, Chicken, Copycat Recipes, Main Dish

Whenever I visit Utah I HAVE to go to Rumbi. Rumbi is one restaurant that I crave all the time. I love it. I have been determined to duplicate their Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki sauce for some time now but haven’t had the chance until just recently. I just bought a bunch of the sauce, brought it home, and spent a full evening with different ingredients trying to duplicate it. I finally figured it out (at least to the point where I can hardly tell any difference between the two sauces).

As far as the Rumbi rice goes, I already had that one down. I had a recipe from when I lived in Hawaii for coconut rice that tastes JUST like Rumbi rice.. so I just used that and it was right smack on. Anyway.. enough talking. I hope you are as excited as I am about this recipe. FINALLY, I can satisfy my Rumbi craving without having to travel to Utah!

This recipe is for the Chicken Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Rice Bowl with Rumbi Rice. If you don’t like Rumbi rice, of course you can serve it with regular rice, brown rice, or noodles..
(makes about 4 bowls)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 carrots, peeled and grated
3 celery stalks, washed and sliced
1 zucchini, chopped into small cubes
1 1/2 c. chopped broccoli florets
2 c. chicken, grilled and cut into small cubes (OR you can get the pre-cooked grilled chicken strips at Costco in the deli section. It comes in a 2-pack.. use one of the packages and cut up the chicken into little cubes.. just saute the chicken for a few minutes in a skillet before serving)
*Rumbi Rice (see recipe below)
**Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce (see recipe below)

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, zucchini, and broccoli (pretty much equal parts of said vegetables.. you can add more or less veggies depending on your taste). Saute ONLY until vegetables are crisp tender. About 1-2 minutes tops. Serve over Rumbi rice and top with chicken. Serve with Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce on the side (about 3 Tbsp. per bowl.. you can add more or less depending on your taste).

*Hawaiian Coconut Rice with Red Beans (aka Rumbi Rice)
2 c. long grain white rice
2 1/2 c. water
1 (14oz) can coconut milk (about 1 1/2 c.)
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker. Gently stir it all together so the beans are all mixed. Place the lid on and start the rice cooker. Fluff rice with a fork before serving.

If you don’t have a rice cooker… Combine water, coconut milk, and sugar in a saucepan. Stir in rice and beans. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 to 20 minutes, until rice is tender.

**Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce:
3/4 c. Mr. Yoshida’s teriyaki sauce (found in the grocery store by the BBQ sauces)
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (in the Asian section of the grocery store.. we used the one in the clear plastic jar with the green lid — if you want to make it spicier.. add more of this to the sauce)
1 tsp. fresh ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water

Combine Yoshida’s, soysauce, garlic sauce, ginger, salt, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Combine cornstarch and water and SLOWLY add to sauce for thickening. You want it to be slightly thicker than the Yoshida’s sauce. Allow to simmer for about a minute. Cool to room temperature and serve with your rice bowls. (If you find that the sauce is too thick when it cools, just add a little more Yoshida’s to it)

• Comments13 Comments
• CategoriesCopycat Recipes, Hawaiian, Light and Tasty, Main Dish

To view my ENTIRE Cafe Rio / Costa Vida Salad copycat recipe, click HERE.

2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
3 cans co*ke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can diced green chilies
3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of co*ke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of co*ke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don’t let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can co*ke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more co*ke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That’s it!

• Comments49 Comments
• CategoriesCopycat Recipes, Crock Pot, Main Dish, Pork

To view my ENTIRE Cafe Rio / Costa Vida Salad copycat recipe, click HERE.

CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it’s not “traditional Cafe Rio”)

To view my ENTIRE Cafe Rio Salad copycat recipe, click HERE.

• Comments27 Comments
• CategoriesCopycat Recipes, Mexican, Side Dish, Vegetarian

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