From the Inside Out

For one week only, you can dine at some of Dallas’ finest restaurants for the low price of $35 and support a good cause at the same time. KRLD’s Restaurant Week will be held August 17-23. During this week, you can get a three-course meal at over 100 restaurants in DFW for only $35. In addition, for each dinner purchased, participating restaurants will donate $7 to the North Texas Food Bank and the Lena Pope Home. Last year KRLD Restaurant Week raised more than $430,000 for the two charities.

The list of participating restaurants includes the new Five Sixty restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, III Forks, Texas de Brazil, The Mansion, Jaspers, Nana’s, and more! It’s one of the best deals you’ll find all year. If you want to participate, pick up the phone and make your reservations now. Reservations are required, seating is limited, and the spots fill up quickly. When you call, be sure to ask for KRLD Restaurant Week Reservations.

For those who want a fourth course, you can get a free certificate from Central Market with any purchase of $25 or more.

For the complete list of participating restaurants, click here.

Bon Appetit!

I know Jesus can appear anywhere, at any time and in any form, but the “Jesus sightings” are getting out of control. Seriously, do you think he chooses to reveal himself on a rock, in wood paneling, a tree, planter, fish stick, mug, pumpkin, spoon, grilled cheese sandwich, window, telephone pole, cat, cloud, frying pan, sink, moth, sonogram, french fry, or turtle shell?

C’mon…really?

What are these people smoking? Is it an attempt to get 15 minutes of fame, or are they crazy? What’s even more disconcerting are all of the people who come out to see it or take pictures. Some are emotionally moved by the experience — crying and saying it’s Jesus talking to them or giving them a sign.

Now, if someone finds deep meaning by seeing Jesus in a frying pan, who am I to judge? God does work in mysterious ways; however, I am, and will always be, skeptical.

I groan each time I hear about one of these “sightings” because I don’t think God creates images of himself on rocks, screen doors or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Why, oh why, do the news stations continue to cover these crazy stories? It’s beyond me. I just don’t get it.

The latest claim is from a North Texas family who says they discovered Jesus in a bag of 99-cent Cheetos. Dan Bell and his wife have lost their minds and claim that a two-inch tall figurine with extended arms is “Cheesus.” They aren’t the first family to make this claim, and they probably won’t be the last. Another family found “Cheesus” last year too.

So, what do you think: is it Cheesus or just plain Cheesy?

A few days ago, I wrote about an exciting new treat, the Holey Donut, a donut that is reportedly low in fat and tasty. I wasn’t sure if these donuts would live up to the hype so I decided to order a few and report back to everyone about them (oh, the sacrifices I make for my loyal blog readers).

Well, I’m happy to report that the donuts arrived today! They are prepared by hand and shipped straight from the store in New York, arriving via FedEx in a special cooler. Because they do not contain any hydrogenated vegetable shortening (bad, unhealthy stuff…yuck), they must remain frozen until they are consumed. It locks in the freshness and keeps them tasty.

I was excited about the experiment so I grabbed the container and ripped it open to inspect my little goodies. I had ordered three boxes — lemon-filled donut holes, glazed donuts with strawberry icing, and cinnamon strudel. The instructions state that the donuts are best served slightly warm and moist, so I popped the iced donut in the microwave and nuked it for about 15 seconds. I also left a few donut holes on the counter to allow them to thaw naturally.

Time for the experiment! The donuts looked tasty, but would they live up to the hype or taste like a cardboard TV dinner? I heard the saying, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” playing in my head. Undeterred, I grabbed the warm donut, raised it to my lips, and took a bite.

It was….fantastic! I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference between this treat and a normal, fat laden donut from a local specialty store — amazing!

When Gary arrived home, he agreed to sacrifice his taste buds for the sake of my blog experiment also. He sampled all of them and gave each an emphatic thumbs up. His favorite was the donut with strawberry icing and sprinkles. Yummy!

Do you love donuts, but hate the calories that come with them? Well, now there may be a way to have one without the other. The average donut has up to 20 grams of fat and as many as 480 calories. Whew, it takes a full hour of high impact kickboxing to burn off that one little donut!

Enter Holey Donuts, the holy grail for donut lovers. These low fat, low calorie donuts only have 3-4 grams of fat and 150-200 calories! What’s even better is that the reviews and testimonials state that these treats actually taste good — unlike many low fat alternatives. Holey Donuts attributes this to a revolutionary cooking process that avoids the deep fryer.

A wide variety of yummy selections are available including coconut cream pie, blueberry crumb cake, Boston cream, velvet strawberry frosted, and more. Traditional favorites like glazed donuts and donut holes are also available. It’s like a smorgasboard of low fat snacks.

I can’t endorse them personally since I haven’t eaten any yet, but I will order a few and report if they live up to the media hype. Stay tuned for my review in a future blog post. In the mean time, you can check ‘em out and order your own here.

Have you ever wished you could recreate your favorite dish from your favorite restaurants? Would you like to know how to make a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll at home? If so, you may be in luck. In his books, author Todd Wilbur reveals secret formulas for duplicating the taste of dishes from America’s biggest restaurant chains.

Todd spends days at a time and dozens of attempts creating the perfect clone of famous brand-name products, and now you can benefit from his efforts. The recipes are simple and easy-to-follow. According to his website, these clones will fool even the most critical connoisseurs at a fraction of the cost of eating out. And it’s not just marketing hype, reviews from real consumers confirm that these formulas are remarkably close to the original.

You can buy the “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes” books, or you can peruse a list of Todd’s recipes online and purchase only the ones you want. Todd also shares a large number of his recipes for free on his website.

Here’s a short list of some of the restaurant chains that you’ll find on the site: Applebee’s, Chilis, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, T.G.I. Friday’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Macaroni Grill. You can also find famous candy bar recipes, Girl Scout Cookie recipes and recipes from fast food joints such as Little Caesar’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King, Panda Express, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

For those of you who are watching your weight, Todd even shares how you can re-create your favorite brand-name foods and restaurant recipes at a fraction of the calories in the privacy of your very own kitchen.

To learn more, visit the website here.