Reese's® Peanut Butter Cups

The first Top Secret Recipes book features a version of this
clone recipe for America's most beloved candy creation.
That recipe now sits in just about every collection of
"copycat" recipes passed around the Web. But since 1993,
I've learned a few things about the delicate science of
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cloning. You know, stuff like:
"Never clone peanut butter cups while crossing a busy
intersection," and "Don't clone peanut butter cups while
under a tall tree in the rain." These are the sort of
handy tips that you don't find anywhere else on the Internet.
These are the things that come with experience, perseverance
and a long, complicated thought process. Over seven years have
 passed, and I figured perhaps it was time to share some of the
 more useful of these discoveries with all you great folks here
 on the site. Now when you make your Reese's clones, you'll know
 to use reduced-fat peanut butter for a better texture. Now when
 you're craving that delicate combination of flavors, you'll know
 to get out the scissors to trim muffin cups for the chocolate.
 This is the improved recipe right here, authorized, and in its
 entirety! Now you can forget all about that other Reese's clone
 formula.

Although, you might want to keep in mind the thing about
the busy intersection.  

12 paper muffin cups
One 12-ounce pkg. milk chocolate chips
1 cup reduced-fat peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paper muffin cups and chocolate -- what a glorious day!


1. Cut the top half off of the muffin cups so that they are
 shallower.
2. Pour the chocolate chips into a glass bowl and melt them
in the microwave: Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes. Stir
 the chips gently, and let them sit for a minute or so. If the
chocolate needs more melting, microwave those chippies again at
 half power for 30 seconds. Stir gently. Continue the process,
stirring gently as you go. But be very careful not to overcook
the chocolate or it'll seize up on you like day old Carolina roof
 tar.
3. Using a teaspoon, spoon a portion of the chocolate into the
 middle of a muffin cup. Draw the chocolate up the edges of the
cup with the back of the spoon. Coat the entire inside of the
muffin cup with chocolate and place it into a muffin tin. Repeat
 with the remaining muffin cups and then put the whole muffin tin
 in the fridge so that the chocolate hardens.
4. Combine the reduced-fat peanut butter, powdered sugar and salt
in a medium bowl.
5. When the chocolate in the muffin cups has hardened, pop the
 sweetened peanut butter into the microwave oven on full power
 for 1 minute. This will soften up the peanut butter so that it
easily flows into the cups.
6. Spoon a small portion of peanut butter into each of the
chocolate-coated cups. Leave room at the top for an additional
layer of chocolate, which we'll add later. Pop the candy back
in the refrigerator to harden the peanut butter. This should
take an hour or so.
7. When the peanut butter filling has hardened, re-melt the
chocolate chips in the microwave on half power for 30 to 60
seconds. Use a teaspoon to spread a layer of chocolate over
the top of each candy. Chill the candy once again to set up
the chocolate.
8. Finally, remember to take the paper off the outside of the
peanut butter cups before eating them.

Makes 12 candies.

Seasoned Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix (Uncle Ben's)

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
                        -----DRY MIX-----
   1      tablespoon    Chicken bouillon powder
   1      teaspoon      Dry chopped onion
     1/2  teaspoon      Dry minced parsley
     1/4  teaspoon      Garlic powder
     1/4  teaspoon      Onion powder
   1      teaspoon      Ground turmeric
     1/2  teaspoon      Ground cumin
     1/4  teaspoon      Ground ginger
     1/2  teaspoon      Black pepper
   1 1/2  teaspoons     Season salt -- to 2 ts
                        -----RICE MIXTURE-----
   2      cups          Water
   2      tablespoons   Butter or margarine
   1      cup           Premium Minute Rice
     1/3  cup           Dry wild rice

Combine all of the ingredients as listed in Dry Mix in medium saucepan.
Add to this water, butter, rice and dry wild rice. Bring to boil. Stir
once or twice just to combine. Cover pan with lid tightly. Simmer gently 8
to 10 minutes or until almost all liquid has been absorbed. Makes 3 cups
cooked rice.

Seven Seas® Free Viva Italian Fat-Free Dressing

Seven Seas dressings were first introduced by Anderson
 Clayton Foods back in 1964, when the trend toward fat-free
 foods was in its infancy. Kraft Foods later picked up the
 brand, and Seven Seas today ranks number four in sales of
 salad dressings in the United States. Here's our special
 technique to creating a delicious clone of Seven Seas
 spice-filled fat-free Italian dressing straight out of
 the latest TSR low-fat cookbook, using a secret combination
 of water, cornstarch and gelatin where the fat used to be.  

1 1/3 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon finely minced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon gelatin
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon dry nonfat buttermilk

1. Combine water, sugar, cornstarch, salt, onion, garlic,
 bell pepper, Italian seasoning, and gelatin in a small
saucepan. Whisk to dissolve cornstarch, then set pan over
 medium/low heat.
2. Heat mixture until boiling, stirring often. When mixture
 begins to boil, cook for 1 additional minute, stirring
constantly, then remove from heat.
3. Add vinegar and dry buttermilk to saucepan and stir.
Transfer dressing to a covered container and refrigerate--
preferably overnight--before serving.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size – 2 tablespoons
Total servings – 12
Fat (per serving) – 0g
Calories (per serving) – 10

Shoney's Tomato Florentine Soup

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      cans          Clear chicken broth -- 14oz ea.
   1      Can           sliced stewed tomatoes -- (14 ounces)
  12      ounces        V-8 juice
  10      ounces        Cream of tomato soup
   1      tablespoon    Sugar
  10      ounces        Frozen chopped spinach

dash Nutmeg Salt and pepper  Combine broth, tomatoes, juice and soup in a
saucepan with a wire whisk over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients,
without even thawing spinach. Allow to heat gently 30 minutes on
medium-low until spinach is tender. Keep hot without letting it boil.
Freeze leftovers.

Sonic® Cherry Limeade

Here's the signature drink from the chain that's reviving
 the drive-up burger joint, just like a scene out of American
 Graffiti or Happy Days. It was in 1953 that Troy Smith obtained
 the parcel of land in Shawnee, Oklahoma that was big enough
 to fit the new steakhouse and root beer stand that was his
dream. Troy thought he'd make he steakhouse his primary operation,
 but as it turned out folks preferred the hot dogs and cold drinks
 over at the root beer stand. So Troy did the smart thing and
ditched the steakhouse to focus all his efforts on the other joint.
 At first he called the root beer stand "Top Hat," but when Troy
 found out later that name was already being used, he came up
"Sonic" to signify "service at the speed of sound." Today the
chain is the sixth largest hamburger outlet in the country.
This recipe makes a simple, old-fashioned drink by combining
Sprite with cherry juice and some lime wedges. Use cherry juice
 made by Libby under the brand-name Juicy Juice for the best home
 clone.

12 ounces Sprite (1 can)
3 lime wedges (1/8 of a lime each)
1/4 cup cherry juice (Libby's Juicy Juice is best)

1. Fill a 16-ounce glass 2/3 full with ice.
2. Pour Sprite over the ice.
3. Add the juice of three lime wedges and drop them into the drink.
4. Add the cherry juice and serve with a straw.
Makes 1 16-ounce drink (medium size).

Sonic® Ocean Water

Any Sonic Drive-In regular knows the three or four unique
 fountain drink favorites on the menu. There's the Limeade,
 the Diet Limeade, and, of course, the Cherry Limeade. But
 that bright blue stuff called Ocean Water has become a
recent favorite for anyone who digs the taste of coconut -
it's like a pina colda soda. The server simply squirts a
bit of blue coconut syrup into some cold Sprite. The big
secret to duplicating this one at home is re-creating that
syrup, so that's the first step. After that's done, you make
 the drink as they do at the restaurant in less time than it
 takes to say, "Does my blue tongue clash with what I'm wearing?"

3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon imitation coconut extract
2 drops blue food coloring
2 - 12-ounce cans cold Sprite ice

1. Combine the water and the sugar in a small bowl. Microwave
 for 30-45 seconds, then stir to dissolve all of the sugar.
 Allow this syrup to cool.
2. Add coconut extract and food coloring to the cooled syrup.
Stir well.
3. Combine the syrup with two 12-ounce cans of cold Sprite.
 Divide and pour over ice. Add straws and serve.
Makes two 12-ounce servings.

Spaghetti Factory Mizithra Cheese Sauce

  2      tablespoons   Flour
  4      tablespoons   Butter
  1      teaspoon      Olive Oil
10      milliliters   Garlic -- crush
  2      tablespoons   Parsley -- chopped
 1/2    cup           Half and Half
   1     cup           Milk
  3/4   cup           Romano Cheese
          White Pepper to taste

Make a light roux over a medium fire with olive oil and butter. Add flour
and cook flour out of raw state; add garlic. Pour milk and half and half
in the roux with pepper and parsley. At the last moment add the cheese.
Place over hot pasta.