How to Prepare Restaurant Meals at Home

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By Y Porter
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Prepare Restaurant Meals at Home

Going to a restaurant for a meal is usually about more than the need to eat. Restaurants offer us an opportunity to spend time with family and friends in a setting different than our homes. Currently, many of us are choosing to eat out less in response to changes in our personal finances. But, eating out less does not have to be the end of breaking bread with others or a recipe for boring meals at home. These steps may help you to bring some of the fun of eating out in!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Make a list of your favorite restaurants and what you usually order off their menus. You want to list more than the entrees. There are some places that you go to because you love their cashew chicken salad or three-layer, espresso, chocolate cake.
Step 2

Find out if the restaurants on your list sell cookbooks of their recipes. If they do, buy one and try your hand at recreating some of their dishes at home. The larger chain restaurants usually include the recipes for their most popular menu items, maybe your favorite is one of them.
Step 3

Search online by the name of the restaurant and the menu item at web sites like recipezaar.com for items on your order list. There's a good chance you'll find a recipe that is the same or similar to the one that the restaurant uses.
Step 4

Enlist your friends and family in a weekly potluck or meal exchange. Agree to rotate locations so that no one gets stuck playing host to the others every week.
Step 5

Create restaurant ambiance by turning off the TV and turning on the "dinner" music. Put a candle on the table and have coffee or dessert; let the dishes wait! Take the kids to a party store and let them choose music and decorations for a dinner theme night.
Step 6

Order out and dine in. Pass on table service and order pickup or delivery from your favorite restaurants. You won't save as much as cooking it yourself, but you can save by eliminating the cost of appetizers, beverages, dessert, tips, and parking.