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With all these great Olive Garden copycat recipes, I rarely ever go out to the restaurant.  I save so much money when I prepare dishes like this at home.  It also allows me to get creative and make some interesting twists in the original recipes flavor.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ lb ground beef
6 oz Italian sausage, skinned
1 cup red wine
18 oz can crushed tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (1/4 tsp dry)
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped (1/4 tsp dry)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 lbs Tortelloni
Parmesan cheese, freshly grate

Heat oil in a large pan.  Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic and cook about 5 minutes. Add meat and cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Deglaze the pan with wine; let reduce.  Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients and stir. Simmer for about 1 hour more.
Toss the hot, drained pasta with the sauce.  Top with parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately.

Mushrooms were on sale at my local grocery this week, so I figured why not try out this classic Olive Garden dish!  I was able to prepare this in a flash and for a fraction of the cost of eating out.
Ingredients:
4 Chicken half breasts - boneless, skinless
1/4 C. cake flour (Wondra)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Oregano
4 Tbsp. Oil
4 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1 C. Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C. Marsala Wine

Preparation:
Combine flour, salt, pepper, and oregano in a shallow dish.  Heat the oil and butter in a skillet until it begins to bubble lightly. Dredge the chicken in the flour, coat evenly. Cook the chicken on medium heat for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly brown. As you flip the breasts to the second side, add the mushrooms around the chicken pieces. Cook about 2 more minutes, until lightly browned on the second side. Stir the mushrooms. Once the second side is lightly browned, add the wine around the pieces, cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Transfer to plates and serve.

Everyone loves fried mozzarella or mozzarella sticks as many call them.  This recipe is both easy and inexpensive and goes great when watching the game on TV!

Ingredients:
16 oz Package of Mozzarella Cheese
2 Eggs Beaten
1/4 Cup Water
1 1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasonings
2/3 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Corn Starch

Preparation:
Cut the mozzarella into either triangles or sticks.  Beat the eggs with water and set aside.  Mix the bread crumbs, garlic salt, and Italian seasonings and set aside. Blend the flour with corn starch and set aside.  Heat your vegetable oil for deep frying to 360 degrees. Dip cheese in flour then in egg wash and then coat with bread crumbs. Place carefully in hot oil and fry until golden, this takes just a few seconds so watch carefully. When golden remove from hot oil and drain .
Serve with marinara sauce.

I love the taste of scampi, yet I’m not a huge seafood lover. I always turn to the alternative, chicken scampi. Olive Garden makes an incredible chicken scampi and now you can prepare this dish at home.

WHITE SAUCE:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk; hot

SCAMPI SAUCE:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
black pepper to taste
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white sauce

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
1/2 package angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
bell peppers; thinly sliced
red onions; thinly sliced
10 cloves of garlic; roasted
2 chicken breasts; sliced
olive oil

For white sauce:
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons flour and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat stirring constantly. Slowly add 3/4 cup hot milk (hot so it won’t get lumpy). Set aside. (Keep the white sauce hot until you add to the scampi sauce)

For scampi sauce:
Heat butter over low heat; add the garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes on low heat. Add the wine and chicken broth. Stir until combined and simmer about 30 minutes. Add the white sauce and cook till slightly thickened. In a large skillet, saute chicken in a little olive oil until almost done. Add the peppers and onions, then saute until chicken is cooked through. Add the sauce. Saute until everything is warmed. Add roasted garlic cloves. Serve over pasta.  Pour a little of the leftover white sauce over the dish.

I can’t get enough Olive Garden.  I always leave that restaurant STUFFED!  Recently, I discovered the secret to their spaghetti sauce.  Now I can enjoy their Tuscan flavors at home.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground round
6 oz V-8 juice
2 Tablespoon Oil
1  jar Prego Spaghetti Sauce
1 Can stewed tomatoes, (14 ounces)
1 Envelope onion soup mix
1/2 c Grape jelly

Brown meat in oil until cooked. Crumble with fork, then drain.  Stir in tomatoes, V-9 juice, Prego, soup mix and grape jelly.  Cook, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes or until jelly melts and sauce is piping hot.

Serve with your favorite pasta.   Don’t forget the bread sticks! 

At first I had to question the use of grape jelly in this recipe. But after trying it, I question no more! This recipe combines tender eggplant with a sweet tomato sauce topped with a nice amount of cheese. How can you go wrong?
1 large eggplant, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Flour, for dusting
Oil, for frying
Seasoned salt, to taste
1 (16 ounce) jar meat-flavored sauce
1/4 cup grape jelly
1 (14 ounce) can sliced-style stewed tomatoes
8 slices mozzarella cheese

Moisten eggplant slices and coat lightly in flour and dust with salt. Brown slices in hot oil. When fork tender and golden brown transfer to a jelly roll pan. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until tender. You should have about 8 slices of eggplant.

For the Sauce: In a saucepan, combine sauce, jelly and tomatoes that have been broken up with a fork. Heat on medium until hot, but do not boil. Make sure the jelly is melted.

Arrange 2 eggplant slices on each plate. Cover each with 2 slices of mozzarella. Ladle sauce over all, not to cover completely. Place plates in 375 degrees F oven to melt the cheese, and serve right away.

Yields 4 servings.

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, why not make lemon cream cake?  I get this dessert every time I visit the Olive Garden, but it’s even better when your enjoying it in the comfort of your own home.  This recipe is only one of the many new recipes featured in Americas Most Wanted Recipes 2

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon zest
6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 cups lemon pie filling
8 slices lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup
sugar.
3.Add oil, egg yolks, water and lemon rind. Beat with an electric
mixer until smooth.
4. In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks
form. Slowly add 3/4 cup sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining
whites until no streaks remain.
6.Turn batter into ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees
F for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean.
7. Invert cake and cool completely in pan. When cool, loosen edges
to remove cake from the pan.
8.To make filling, beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold in lemon filling. Chill
until stiff.
9.To assemble cake: Slice cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Fill
layers with 1/3 cup of filling. Spread remaining filling on top layer.
Decorate with lemon slices.

Makes 1 cake