| I don't know about you, but I love eating out | | | | 1/4 tsp. pepper |
| at restaurants. The problem is that my budget | | | | |
| doesn't always support it since even a simple | | | | 4 Tbsp. flour |
| meal out at a restaurant can cost an arm and | | | | |
| a leg. The good news is that rather than | | | | 1/2 Cup water |
| having to miss out on your favorite meals | | | | |
| because you are on a limited budget you can | | | | 1 lb. cooked chicken, cubed or pulled |
| use a "copycat recipe" to make your favorite | | | | |
| restaurant dishes at home. | | | | 1 Cup cream |
| | | | |
| These recipes are reverse engineered to make | | | | 1/4 Cup non-fat sour cream |
| a dish that tastes just like that one you | | | | |
| have at the restaurant. The difference is | | | | 8 oz. processed cheese, 1-inch cubes |
| that instead of having to pay the huge price | | | | |
| tag for a restaurant meal, you just pick up | | | | 10 (6-inch) colored or yellow corn tortillas, |
| the ingredients at the grocery store and make | | | | 1/4-inch strips, fried |
| it yourself for a fraction of the cost. Not | | | | |
| only that, but by making it yourself you get | | | | Roughly chopped Fresh cilantro (optional) |
| leftovers, too, which is always a good thing! | | | | |
| | | | Sauté oil, garlic and onions in large pan |
| As an example, here's a copycat recipe that I | | | | until soft. Add the vegetable oil, chicken |
| have for Applebee's Cheese Chicken Tortilla | | | | stock, green pepper, tomato puree, |
| Soup. | | | | jalapeño pepper, salt, pepper, sugar, |
| | | | chili powder, Worcestershire sauce and hot |
| 2 tsp. minced fresh garlic | | | | sauce. Bring to low boil, then reduce heat |
| | | | and simmer 20 minutes. Cut tortillas into 1 |
| 1 cup chopped yellow onion | | | | 4-inch strips and fry in oil or spray with |
| | | | oil and bake at 400ºF (while soup is |
| 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil | | | | cooking). Sprinkle with salt if desired. |
| | | | Thoroughly mix flour and water, then whisk |
| 4 Cups chicken stock | | | | into soup. Bring to a low boil, then simmer 5 |
| | | | minutes. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes. |
| 1/4 cup green pepper, chopped | | | | Stir in sour cream and cheese (to taste). The |
| | | | soup should be served at 165ºF. After |
| 1 can tomato puree (15 oz.) | | | | serving soup, pile tortilla strips into a |
| | | | "haystack" shape on top of the soup. |
| 1 Tbsp. finely minced jalapeño pepper | | | | Optional: garnish with freshly chopped |
| (optional) | | | | cilantro. Makes 6-8 servings |
| | | | |
| 1 tsp. sugar | | | | This recipe is delicious and is really great |
| | | | for cold winter nights since soup is always a |
| 1/2 tsp. hot sauce (optional) | | | | warm, filling meal. One of the great things |
| | | | about this recipe is that it makes enough to |
| 1 tsp. chili powder (optional) | | | | feed an entire family and is pretty cheap to |
| | | | make. Even if you just have one or two people |
| 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce | | | | to feed the leftovers can be easily stored |
| | | | and feed you for a few days. It's a great way |
| 1/2 tsp. salt | | | | to get restaurant-style soup on an eat at |
| | | | home budget. |