I LOVE Gloria Pitzer. (AKA the Make-alike Thread)

[lashbear]

Gloria Pitzer was (for me) the original Recipe Detective. Her recipes for well-known American food such as 'Gloreo' Cookies, 'Wednesday's' Frostys & Chilli, 'Big Bucket In The Sky' Chicken, 'Dent Knee's' Cheese Soup, 'Lone John Sliver's' Battered Fish, Orange 'Judas', 'Recess' Peanut Butter cups, 'Share-A-Lee's' Carrot Cake and many other Make-alike recipes were just what I needed to get my intercontinental cuisine fix.

Many handy ingredients such as Good 'Reasons' Salad Dressing Mix, 'Eager'-Brand Milk, Kraft Creamy French Dressing (orange, not the red), and 'Geez' Whiz were also handed down in recipe form for me to emulate in a land where they weren't available.

I have found many (around 200) Make-alike recipes of hers and from other chefs via the net, but I thought we could share here some of the best.

Sooooo... What's YOUR favourite Make-alike recipe? It can be from Gloria, Todd Wilbur or any of the other Make-alike (AKA Clone) chefs out there.

Here's the recipe for making a Bisquick Make-alike for those times when you've run out and can't make it to the market (or if you're in Australia and can't get it anywhere...)

Bisquick Mix:
8 cups Flour
1 ¼ cup Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
¼ Cup Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Salt
2 cups Shortening

Combine flour, milk, baking powder, and salt in a very large bowl.
Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Store in tightly closed container in a cool place.

Makes about 10 cups.

Recipe by Gloria Pitzer, The Recipe Detective

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Seems you read my mind. I was just googling Pop Tarts (looking for a factory) and found a blog where someone had figured out her own recipe for them (http://doughmesstic.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html), with the caption "Homemade Pop Tarts - Yes, Really!".

I was struck by the concept that at one point there was a thing called a tart, which people made, at home or at restaurants...and then someone came up with a tart you can pop in a toaster any time...and now it's being reverse engineered, with the fact that you can make one at home supposed to surprise me.

Are we really living in that apocalyptic future where no one remembers where food comes from? ;)

Anyway - I salute lash's pursuit of all things prepackaged. Makes me wonder, if I moved out of the States, would I miss Kraft Mac & Cheese enough to try recreate it at home?

[katiesue]

CP - I was an exchange student for a year and I would have killed for a taco.

I've been trying recipes from Hungry Girl - they're all lower cal, lower fat versions of favorites. So far I've made....

Bonless Buffalo Wings - this one has 175 calories/serving. Recipe makes two servings - super easy.

8oz raw bonless, skinless, lean chicken breast cut into 10 nuggets

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)

1 ounce (about 14) pringles light fat free barbeque potato chips (or another fat free bbq flavored potato chip)

3 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Dash Onion Poweder, Dash Garlic Powder, Dash Cayenne Pepper, Dash Salt, Dash Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One into a breadcrumb-like substance.

Crush potato chips completely, in a small dish mix crushed potato chips with cereal crumbs. Add spices and stir well.

Place chicken in a seperate dish. Cover with Frank's RedHot and toss to coat.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Give each chicken piece a shake so it's not dripping with sauce, and then coat evenly with crumb mixture. Lay crumb-covered nuggets on the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, flipping nuggets halfway through, until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked troughout.

[katiesue]

Onion Rings - 153 calories recipe makes one serving

1 Large Onion

1/2 cup Fiber One Bran Cereal

1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute

dash salt

Optional: additionial salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder (I've also added a little cyanne pepper)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut ends off onion and remover outer layer. Cut onion into 1/2 inch wide slices, and seperate into rings.

Using a blender or food processor grind Fiber One into a breacrumb like consistancy.

Pour Fiber One "breadcrumbs" into a small dish and mix in salt and any optional spices you like.

Fill a small bowl with egg substitute. One by one, coat each ring first in egg and then in the "breadcrumbs" (give each ring a shake after the egg bath).

Evenly place rings on a baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the over for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping rings halfway through.

[lashbear]

Just in case you need to leave the country... ya know. ;)

Kraft Deluxe Original Macaroni And Cheese Dinner

8 cups Water
2 cups Uncooked elbow macaroni
1/3 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Cheez Whiz (I have a recipe on how to make this too, if ya like...)
2 tablespoons Whole milk
1/4 teaspoon Salt

1. Bring 8 cups (2 quarts) of water to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Add elbow macaroni to water and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally

2. As macaroni boils, prepare sauce by combining cheddar cheese, Cheez Whiz, and milk in a small saucepan over medium/low heat. Stir cheese mixture often as it heats, so that it does not burn. Add salt. When all of the cheddar cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth, cover pan and set aside until macaroni is ready.

3. When macaroni is ready, strain water, but do not rinse the macaroni.

4. Using the same pan you prepared the macaroni in, combine the macaroni with the cheese sauce, and mix well. Makes about 4 cups.

Recipe by Todd Wilbur

[lashbear]

BTW: Katiesue, I love that recipe, and you can get a thicker ring if you leave two joined together when separating the onion. More like the Burger King/Hungry Jacks ones. I also use Panko for crumbing to get them really crispy.

[katiesue]

Planet Hollywood Sweet & Cap'n Crunchy Chicken

234 Calories makes two servings (I did not make the dipping sauce)

8 ounces raw bonless skinless lean chicken breast tenders

1/2 cup Cap'n Crunch cereal (original)

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)

3 Tabelspoons fat free liquid egg substitute

2 Tabelspoons Hellmann's/Best Foods Dijonnaise

2 Tabelspoons Honey Mustard

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash salt

Dash black pepper

Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One into a breadcrumb-like conistency. Set aside.

Put Cap'n Crunch in a sealable plastic bag and seal. Using a rolling pin or can, coarsely crush the cereal through the bag. In a wide bowl, combine the Fiber One crumbs, the crushed Cap'n Crunch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place the chicken in a seperate medium bowl. Pour the egg substitute on top and flip the chicken to coat. Shake off any excess egg substitute. Coat the chicken with the cereal mixture.

Spray a large pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium heat. Gently place the coated chicken pieces in the pan, spacing them out as much as possible. Cook for 5 minutes and then carefully flip. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until cooked through.

Combine Dijionnaise and honey mustard in a small dish and mix well. Serve with the chicken.

[katiesue]

BTW: Katiesue, I love that recipe, and you can get a thicker ring if you leave two joined together when separating the onion. More like the Burger King/Hungry Jacks ones. I also use Panko for crumbing to get them really crispy.

I'm sure you can. They're a little on the dryer side - but that's how I like my rings anyway

[Cadaverous Pallor]

1/2 cup Cheez WhizAh, so THAT'S the secret ingredient! I've never actually had Cheez Whiz.

[3894]

My all-time favorite copycat recipe is for the Rainforest Café chicken salad's dressing. It's here (http://www.bigoven.com/101011-Islands-China-Coast-Salad-Dressing-recipe.html). It means nothing that my search also brought up hits for an adhesive wound dressing from China.

Seems you read my mind. I was just googling Pop Tarts (looking for a factory) and found a blog where someone had figured out her own recipe for them, with the caption "Homemade Pop Tarts - Yes, Really!".

Years ago, the fabulous Jane and Michael Stern reverse engineered Twinkies. I didn't have any luck googling that but did find their famous Undescended Twinkies (http://www.bigoven.com/21362-Undescended-Twinkies-recipe.html).

[Snowflake]

Anyone got the chicken lettuce wraps recipe from PF Changs? An otherwise bad excuse for Chinoise Cuisine, but the Mongolian Beef there was always good.

[lashbear]

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps Make-alike

Wraps:
8 dried Shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons cooking sherry
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
2 chopped green onions
8 oz can bamboo shoots, chopped up
8 oz can water chestnuts, chopped
2 small dried chilies (optional)
1 package of Chinese cellophane rice noodles, cooked according to instructions on the package
Iceberg lettuce leaves

Sauce:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cooking sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:
Pour enough boiling water over dried mushrooms to cover. Let soak for 30 minutes, then drain. After the mushrooms have soaked, remove any woody stems and chop up the mushrooms.

While waitng for the mushrooms to finish soaking, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sherry, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and chicken. Stir together until chicken is well coated.

Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil. After the oil gets hots, add the chicken mixture. Fry quickly for about 3 minutes, or til chicken is no longer pink. Stir constantly to prevent burning. Remove chicken.

To the same skillet, add 2 more tablespoons of oil. Add the fresh ginger, garlic, green onions, and optional chilies, if desired. Fry quickly for 45-60 seconds, or till garlic is a golden color. Do not overcook garlic, or it will taste bitter. Add the dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Fry quickly for about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to the skillet. Add the sauce ingredients to the same skillet. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Break the cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces. Spread the noodles onto the bottom of a platter. Pour the chicken mixture on top of the noodles. Spoon into lettuce leafs. Roll up chicken lettuce wraps and secure with toothpicks.

Copycat recipe by Angela Harris http://hubpages.com/hub/Just-Like-PF-Chang-Recipes

[lashbear]

Also, presenting.... *Drum-roll*

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef Make-alike

Sauce:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Also needed:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions

Method:
Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of oil in medium saucepan over med/low heat.

Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get spatter when adding the other liquids.

Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.

Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Remove it from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch thick bite-size slices.
Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch and apply a thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.

Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (or skillet).

Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
Add the beef to the oil and saute for 2 minutes or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.

You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef will go back on the heat later.

Stir the meat around a little so it cooks evenly.

After a couple of minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and place it on paper towels.

Then pour the oil out of the wok.

Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.

Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.

Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Recipe from Symphonygirl's Mother-In-Law via BakeSpace.com

[3894]

Thank you, my angel! I live in a decent Chinese food-free zone. I'm making the lettuce wraps tonight.
Mwah!

[lashbear]

I am enjoying my Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage Makealike Sooooo much that I am posting the recipe here for you all. It's too good not to share. I have removed the MSG from the recipe because it simply doesn't need it.

I also used a Sunbeam (whaat else) Multimincer (http://www.sunbeam.com.au/Pages/Browse/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1158)to grind my own pork sausage-meat. Therefore my JD Sausage is 99.9% fat-Free. I don't find that it turns out too dry because I cook it slowly You CAN add 1/4 Cup milk-soaked breadcrumbs to each mix if yhou want it juicier without adding lots of fat to it.

Quantities are for a pound of sausage - so LoTters had better triple or quadruple them ;)

Oh, and anyone who needs Bacon Bouillon Cubes had better PM me so I can send some out for the Maple Bacon sausage. It RAWKS.
:D


Jimmy Dean Sausage Make-alike

Regular
16 ounces ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon rubbed dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Hot
16 ounces ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon rubbed dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Maple Bacon
16 ounces ground pork
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 Bacon Bouillon Cube, crushed

Mix all the ingredients for your preferred flavour in a large bowl.

Form the mixture into patties and cook it over medium heat in a pan until completely browned.

Made 17 Oct 2010 - great success !!

[cirquelover]

Yum, thanks for all the recipes to try. I'll try to find the few I have.