You can make the same food that your favorite restaurant makes - at home!!

Have you ever wished you could make the same delicious food that you buy at Applebees or Chillis or any of your other favorite restaurants like Chris Steaks and IHOP and Outback Steakhouse. There are ways you can get the same thing to eat at home and probably pay less.

That same delicious meal that you eat at your favorite restaurant can be duplicated by trying a few of these different ideas.

1. Sometimes you can buy the recipe from the restaurant off their website or by asking the waiter for a copy of the recipe. Some things aren't as complicated as we first think they are. That delicious food might just be a few unique ingredients or cooked a certain temperature. Just asking can sometimes get you the recipe. Or just looking or asking on the internet. Some chefs are flattered to have people ask for their recipes.

2. Another way to get the same delicious food that you eat at Applebees or Chillis or other restaurants is to reverse engineer it. If you get take out food and take it home you can make a game out of guessing what is in the food. Some people are really good at figuring out tastes. If you are one of these people or know one of these people, you can probably figure out how to cook the same food this way. Often you can get hints from your waitress by asking what is in it because you or someone in your family has food allergies.

The menu might give you most of the ingredients when you are ordering the food. Write down what you read on the menu or what the waitress says is in the food. Writing down everything you find out about it is a good idea while the delicious food is still on your mind. Taking a photo of it with your camera when you are served is also a good idea. We often forget some of the main ingredients or the look of it before we get around to trying to make it at home.

If you eat at the restaurant several weeks in a row and get to know the waitress, you may be able to prove that you love this item and they may be prone to help you figure out what is in it.

3. Sometimes you can't get the recipe easily so you may have to ask other customers or your friends and relatives who eat at this same restaurant how they think the food is made. Flattering the waitress or chef by telling them how good the food is will usually get you some of the ideas of how to make it.

4. Also some chefs actually have cooking classes. The chef will charge for the class and cook a meal which everyone will have the chance to taste. You could give the chef ideas for what things you would want him/her to cook. Once again, it is important to take notes because many of the key tips are not written on any handouts.

5. Some restaurants sell their specialties in grocery stores, like Mo's clam chowder - Ivar's clam chowder - Marie Calendar's pies. Keep your eyes open for this food.