The days of occasional temperatures in the high 60s are over and the cold weather is beginning to make its presence known. While the drudgeries of the impending winter might come to mind when you see the mercury dip into the twenties and thirties, there are also many good things that are associated with the below-freezing temperatures; soups, hot beverages and warm dishes to fill your belly and warm you from the inside out.
But not everyone has the time (or the money) to grab a drink at Starbucks or have a meal at Cracker Barrel. For those of us who will most likely be stuck indoors most of the winter, here are some copycat recipes that will be sure to please even the pickiest eaters and make you forget your frozen extremities and runny nose.
SOUPS
Panera Broccoli and Cheese Soup
There's nothing quite like filling a bowl or a mug with your favorite soup on a cold winter's day. This copycat Panera Broccoli and Cheese Soup recipe will not only satisfy your taste for soup, but will make you almost believe that you're sitting in a trendy café instead of sitting in your pajamas in the living room.
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup with Olive Garden Breadsticks
This Italian favorite is a staple at the popular restaurant chain, but if you can't make it to Olive Garden for a bowl of this delicious concoction, then try creating it yourself with this handy recipe. And a copycat Olive Garden meal wouldn't be complete without a basket of copycat breadsticks.
MAIN COURSES
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
Cold weather and chicken and dumplings seem to be synonymous. They smell like grandma's house and make you feel all warm and tingly inside. What could be better than that? Here's a recipe that will help you create this comforting cuisine for your family.
Papa Murphy's Garlic Chicken Pizza
While a well-crafted pizza pie can be eaten in any type of weather, this white-themed pizza looks like a winter wonderland on a plate. And with this copycat recipe, you won't even have to leave your house to enjoy this Italian delicacy.
DESSERTS
Grocery Store Soft-Baked Sugar Cookies
You've seen them. Those deliciously-sinful-looking cookies that are dressed in the colors of the season, calling your name when you walk past the bakery section of the grocery store. Now you can create and eat your own soft sugar cookies in the privacy of your own home, without enduring the judgmental glances of other shoppers.
Cracker Barrel Fried Apples
Once you've ran around the block three times to work off that one soft-baked cookie, you can whip up some of these delectable Cracker Barrel Fried Apples that will satisfy your sweet tooth without ruining your New Year's resolutions.
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Jessa is the Editor-in-Chief of Hooray for Family and the mom of three energetic children. She has a BA in Mass Communication/Journalism from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and is a long-time resident of Central Texas. When she isn't writing and editing, she enjoys playing board games with her kids, teaching Sunday school and channeling her creativity into craft projects.
