DIY Popeye's Spicy Chicken Sandwiches

The battle of the fried chicken sandwich yielded some wonderful copycat recipes like this Popeye's copycat!

This was meant to be posted last year but was from 2020 - it's always weird to see pictures from the old house. I personally loved the era of crispy fried chicken sandwich battles and I never got around to trying them all. I am, however, very partial to Popeye's fried chicken and so this copycat will have to do until we get around to having the real thing. We, of course, all really enjoyed it!

Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo

Hello everyone! It feels like it's been so long! Marching band season + full time job feels like two full time jobs sometimes and I was not prepared for the lack of free time I was going to have. Marching band is winding down and I actually had a relaxing, calm weekend last weekend, so I think I'll probably be able to start posting more regularly soon. I definitely have taken a different approach where if I am stressed I don't force myself to have to do things. It was not the end of the world if I didn't post. However, I have been blogging for 11 years and still have plenty of recipes to share (and save for me too).

This one is pretty self explanatory - a copycat Olive Garden alfredo. We love a good chicken alfredo in my household and we definitely loved this recipe. What's super wild to me is seeing the island from the old house in these pictures because I am that far behind on sharing recipes LOL.

Copycat McDonald's Pancakes

When you have a hankering for McDonald's pancakes, but you don't want to leave your house, I've got you covered!

When I was a kid, we had Dairy Queen and Burger King and that was about it in the area I grew up in. Occasionally we went to the bigger town almost an hour away and would get Arby's. It was pretty exciting when we got a McDonald's and we ate there a bit more when it was new. I personally loved getting the pancakes for breakfast. I like getting the frozen Eggo kind because they remind me so much of McDonald's pancakes (let's be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same thing or close to), so, of course, I jumped at the opportunity to try a copycat. I love copycats. These definitely aren't exact but they are close and they were great!

Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rattlesnake Bites

This copycat appetizer is so good that you won't be able to eat just one of the fried cheese balls with a jalapeno bite.

I always get nervous making fried cheese recipes. I initially thought this recipe used a couple of blocks of pepper jack and you made large cubes. It was surprising to find it was shredded cheese. It was super nerve wracking and I was hoping that it would turn out, as these were treats for NYE 2019. They did turn out well and we all loved them. They did not last long at all.

PF Chang's Turkey Lettuce Wraps

This copycat recipe is simple and quick and perfect for a meal on a busy day or night.

Spring break is upon us and honestly it's super weird. That's when my kids left in-person school last year and didn't go back. It's strange to me to see recipes from a year ago and think of the struggle that was finding foods. I've always loved meal planning but I found out just how hard that was when the supply is inconsistent. Especially when it's meat and produce that are affected. It took months for our stores to fully recover and I think now a year later, they finally are just putting out toilet paper and paper towels without them being ransacked. This recipe was one I kept hoping to make but struggled to find butter lettuce leaves. I was really happy to finally find them and be able to make it.

Prado's Flatbread Copycat

Check out the Mexicali and Blanca flatbread pizzas inspired by a restaurant in San Diego.

One of my favorite things to do (if you didn't know by now) is to come up with copycat recipes of foods in restaurants or that I've seen on the internet. This particular recipe is from a restaurant in San Diego called (The) Prado. My husband spent 2019 traveling to San Diego for work and he loves it. He actually lived there when he was really young for a few years and so it's a bit nostalgic for him too. One of his favorite foods he ate (outside of all the amazing Mexican food) was the Mexicali flatbread pizza at Prado. He sent me a picture of the menu and I immediately went to the Blanca flatbread pizza with goat cheese and spinach. As I have not had these pizzas and cannot speak to how close the recipes actually are...these are just loose copycat recipes that I made on what little information was given on the menu. Both were crazy delicious.

School Pizza Copycat

If you've ever had and loved this thicker crust (amazing) school pizza as a kid, you need this recipe!

School pizza is very polarizing in that I know some people despise and some people love it.  I will say this...I like the school pizza I had when I was in elementary school. Once I moved to Tennessee and attended middle school and high school, the pizza was not the same. Matt and Cami were not excited about this pizza because they only know Tennessee school pizza and it is not like this one. But they ate it and then told me how they would absolutely eat school pizza if it was like this AND how jealous they were that I got this at school.

Copycat White Castle Sliders

Harold & Kumar were onto something with the White Castle Sliders, but instead of the journey they took, you can just make them at home!

I have posted a copycat recipe of this particular food before, however, the recipe/method were completely different. This one is based more on how White Castle actually makes their sliders. I have never been to White Castle. The South has Krystals which I've heard isn't as good, but works. I personally don't like Krystals at all. My husband, Nick, on the other hand, loves both of them a lot. I made this recipe for him. I used Andrew Rea's recipe from his show Binging with Babish - if you haven't heard of him, I highly recommend. He is absolutely fabulous. I really enjoyed this recipe, so maybe I'd be a White Castle fan - who knows!? :)

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

This no-fuss recipe is the perfect side dish for any big breakfast spread!

I couldn't share the pancakes recipe without sharing the reason why everyone goes to Cracker Barrel, right? I just assume that. This is easy to make and goes so well when you have to serve a crowd (when we're allowed to do that again, I guess) - especially for the holiday breakfasts.

Copycat Cracker Barrel Pancakes

This classic buttermilk pancake recipe is something you want to have in your recipe arsenal!

I love going to Cracker Barrel and eating from their breakfast menu. I honestly cannot think of a time that I got an actual main dish/lunch/supper recipe there. It's always breakfast! I love their pancakes and wanted to try out this copycat at home. I have to admit, it's missing something, but it's still a perfectly solid classic pancake recipe.

Copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad

Sometimes you crave a cobb salad from Chick-fil-A, but it's a Sunday. Have no fear, make your own cobb salad copycat at home!

Chick-fil-A is one of the very few fast food places where I'll eat anything on the menu. I like the plain chicken sandwiches, the deluxe spicy and non-spicy, the grilled club, the wraps, and all of the salads. Every single salad is so good, but I especially love the cobb salad. Unfortunately, a lot of times that I am out and want a salad from Chick-fil-A is Sunday and as we all know, they are not open on Sunday. So when Sundays happen, you have to have a good copycat recipe in your arsenal!

Copycat Maggie's Pizza Burgers

Pizza and burgers together are a great combination - in addition to pizza toppings, this burger has fried mozzarella half moons too!

Occasionally, Nick will request we make a food he has eaten somewhere. It took forever, but we finally got around to making a copycat for a burger he had at a restaurant in upstate New York where we lived for 7 years. I had never been to the restaurant. I want to say he went for someone's retirement or promotion or PCS or something. I'm not sure. The problem is that when he told me how to make it, he didn't tel me the precise order of ingredients. So my pictures don't match what it should be in its final form. Also, my provolone had molded, so no provolone here. Follow the directions below and eventually I will get more accurate pictures of this fantastic burger!

Copycat Marion's Pizza

This pizza copycat is straight out of Dayton, Ohio - an okay imitation at best - the real thing is too good!

When I had first met my husband, all I heard about was this amazing pizza place in Ohio called Marion's Piazza (and Skyline too). We met in 2004 and it took me until 2016 to actually go to Marion's and have this infamous pizza. In particular, my husband's favorite is the one with Italian sausage and banana peppers. It's a thin crust pizza that's cut into squares. Marion's crust reminded me a lot of the pizza crust at my childhood favorite pizza place, Pizza Ranch. :) I'm still trying to find a good thin crust recipe that tastes like the ones at restaurants and it's driving me bonkers.

Copycat DQ Ice Cream Cake

Classic DQ ice cream cake with layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate crunch bits, chocolate fudge, and a light and fluffy whipped topping.

When I was a kid, Dairy Queen was a big deal. I loved going and getting the chicken strip basket and loved even more getting to turn in my coin for a Dilly bar. Occasionally, if it was a good year for my family, my mom would get a DQ ice cream cake for my birthday and I loved when she did so so much. I don't really even care for chocolate ice cream, but the DQ ice cream cake is supreme! My favorite parts are definitely the chocolate crunch bits AND the delicious light and fluffy whipped frosting. I'll be honest and tell you that I have no clue why I made this cake when I did. It was in the midst of all the birthdays, but it wasn't for someone's birthday. Because as an adult, you don't have to wait until your birthday to have the cake of your dreams, I guess!

Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken Copycat

Find the recipe on The Recipe Jackpot

Homemade French Onion Dip

If you have sour cream and some basic spice staples, you can make this dip without making a trip to the store!

One day, I was craving chips and dip. I think the only kind of dip I eat is French onion dip and I didn't want to go out to the store to get just one thing that wasn't really a necessity. I looked up a recipe and was pleased to discover I had everything I needed to make it already: sour cream and some seasonings that are staples in my pantry. It tastes as good if not better than any other French onion dip I've purchased at the store and I'm definitely keeping this recipe in my back pocket for whenever I have a craving!

Steak 'n Shake Garlic Double Steakburgers

Garlic it up with these copycat double burgers that you can make at home!

I must admit that I have only had Steak 'n Shake a couple of times. I had never really heard anything good about them. I did try a local one, but then stopped because apparently they had served undercooked chicken tenders and then refused to refund the meal. I rather like making copycat recipes at home. They tend to be way better than what comes at the fast food place and so here I am making a copycat of something I have not tried at the restaurant. And you don't have to ask me twice about making a recipe that has garlic in the title! We were in love with these burgers - so garlicky!

Copycat Pickle Pizza

Find the recipe on The Recipe Jackpot

Copycat Chicken Bryan

This restaurant favorite has seasoned grilled chicken topped with goat cheese, roasted tomatoes, and basil and drizzled in a luscious lemon butter sauce

This recipe has multiple parts to it and it does seem a little daunting, but if you time everything and read through the recipe a few times, you'll be good to go. I did include little tips for timing before the specific instruction set for different parts, so it's a little less overwhelming. The many parts come together and make this meal astounding. I have never been to Carrabba's and I'll be honest and say that the name made me think it was a Mexican food place. I was surprised to find it was an Italian grill restaurant (and I definitely want to go now). I am up for any recipe that has tomatoes and basil at this point. They all seem like winners. This recipe is different in the grill seasoning - that is one of my favorite spice mixes I've ever used - especially on chicken - and the recipe uses goat cheese rather than mozzarella. I'm still relatively new to goat cheese, but I do enjoy it thoroughly. Last but not least, you have the amazing wonderful lemon butter sauce that is too good it should be illegal.

Mimi's Cafe Carrot Cake Muffins

A spring dessert turned into muffins for breakfast - have your carrot cake and eat it too!

I adore carrot cake and I am not particular how it comes - it can have pineapple, coconut, raisins, walnuts, pecans, or whatever. I think it's fantastic. I love having dessert-like treats for breakfast and knew these carrot cake muffins would be awesome! They do have pineapple, raisins, and walnuts in them and they aren't as sweet as carrot cake, so they make for the perfect spring breakfast.