Eating Out At Home - Chili's Style

I've posted before about our practice of making our favorite restaurant foods at home.We enjoy the same yummy food for a fraction of the cost! This post and the recipes I'd posted along with it have gotten such a huge response that I decided to make them a regular Friday post. I hope ya'll enjoy it.

Today I am craving Chili's, so here are a few of our make at home versions of their yummy food.

Chili's Shanghai Wings with Wasabi Ranch Dipping Sauce - A friend sent me this in an email and it's wonderful!

2 chicken breast fillets
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
1 cup milk
4 to 8 cups vegetable oil (for deep fat frying)

Ginger Citrus Sauce:
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon corn starch
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Wasabi Ranch:
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch bottled salad dressing
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon powdered wasabi

Slice each chicken breast into 6 pieces. Combine flour, salt, peppers and paprika in a medium bowl. In another small bowl, whisk together egg and milk.

One or two at a time, dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then into the breading blend; then repeat the process so that each piece of chicken is double-coated. When all chicken pieces have been breaded, arrange them on a plate and chill for 15 minutes.

Preheat 4 to 8 cups of canola oil in a deep fat fryer to 375 degrees.

Ginger Citrus Sauce:
As the chicken is resting, make the ginger-citrus sauce by dissolving the corn starch in the water. Pour the water into a medium saucepan along with the rest of the sauce ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool a bit.

Wasabi Ranch:Make the wasabi-ranch dressing while your ginger-citrus sauce is simmering. Simply whisk together the ranch dressing, buttermilk, prepared horseradish, powdered wasabi, and green food coloring in a small bowl. Cover and chill this until the wings are done.

When the chicken has rested and you're ready to cook, lower the boneless wings into the oil and fry for 5 to 6 minutes or until each piece is browned. Depending on the size of your fryer, you may want to fry the chicken in batches so that the chicken isn't too crowded in there. When chicken pieces are done frying, remove them to a draining rack or a plate lined with a couple paper towels.

When all the chicken is fried, place the pieces into a covered container such as a large jar with a lid. Pour the Ginger-citrus Sauce over the chicken in the container, cover it up, and then gently shake everything around until each piece of chicken is coated with sauce

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Chili's Spicy Garlic & Lime Shrimp - One of my very favorite foods!

Chili's Paradise Pie - This came in the same email. Thanks to Mel for sharing these!

Cookie Layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Crust Layer:
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cinnamon Butter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

To Serve:
vanilla ice cream
chocolate syrup
caramel syrup - ice cream topping
chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease baking sheet with butter or margarine.

To make cookie layer:
Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder in medium bowl.
In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar. Continue beating about 30 seconds or until mixture turns light in color. Add egg, milk and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.
Slowly fold dry mixture into the wet mixture. Beat well. Mix in coconut flakes. Set aside.

To make crust layer:
Melt butter in medium bowl. Add sugar and stir 30 seconds. Add graham cracker crumbs; mix well. Press this mixture into bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish or pan.
Sprinkle cup of chocolate chips evenly over graham cracker crust. Press cookie dough into dish, covering chocolate chips. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over dough, then press in.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until edges become light and brown.

Cinnamon Butter Directions:
Cream together butter, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl with a electric mixture on high speed.
Heat small skillet over medium heat. When hot, remove from heat, then add about 1 Tbsp cinnamon butter to the pan. It should quickly melt and sizzle.
Slice the hot pie into 9 pieces and place one slice into hot skillet till warmed; repeat with other pieces.

Serving Instructions: Place a scoop of ice cream on top of each slice of "pie". Drizzle chocolate and caramel syrup over each slice of dessert and then sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.

Hope you enjoy!