“This year I’m going to…” How many of you have started the New Year with that phrase? Probably all of us. I think the secret to not blowing your resolution by February, or even January 2nd, is to make them more realistic and smaller. Also, how about we choose one that’s really BROAD so that even if you fail a little bit, you can keep the big picture alive? For example, if you said you resolve to “Save money, spend less” you can do this in so many ways, you can maybe gradually change your lifestyle without feeling like you’re forcing it.
One way to do this is to cook more and not eat out so much right? Even fast food adds up eventually. But it’s so good, dang it! Here’s a way to make copycat recipes at home and not have to make the sacrifice for what you crave.
Panda Express® Kung Pao Chicken
Other than orange chicken, Panda’s kung pao is my favorite. When I order their “bigger plate”, I usually get a double portion of the kung pao to go with my fried rice. Did you even know that Panda sells their sauce in a bottle?? OMG this blew me away because I did not know this. I mean, how much easier does it get to replicate the recipe than to just cut up the ingredients and pour the sauce?
Maybe not so secret sauce? Or maybe slightly altered so you can’t get exactly like the real thing, but if it’s sold by Panda Express®, I’m betting they won’t let you down.
If you don’t have a wok, just do this in your Zojirushi Electric Skillet on high heat and very quickly you’ll have it bubbling in no time.
Even though you cannot stir-fry like a wok, the big area of the shallow pan (mine comes with a deeper one too) allows the steam to dissipate faster, which seems to help with preventing the kung pao from becoming a stew.
And if you don’t have fried rice, who cares? This is the perfect saucy dish to go on top of plain white rice.
Olive Garden® Chicken Gnocchi Soup
If you’re serious about saving money this year, the real spending (at least for us) is dining out at restaurants. It always kills me to think that regardless of what kind of restaurant I’m in, the price on the menu is really 30% higher if you add the tax and tip in California. Why not save it for special occasions and cook your favorites at home instead?
People seem to really like the Olive Garden® Chicken Gnocchi Soup so I decided to give it a go. This recipe is from Delish®, but there are so many copycat recipes out there for this dish that it’s easy to find. I can see why it’s so popular—this is a hearty soup but not heavy. It’s creamy but not overly thick. It’s very satisfying taste-wise but doesn’t seem to be over-seasoned. And the gnocchi is different and fun to eat! It’s a chicken chowder is what it is.
Add this soup to your list of lunch items to bring to work or your next outing. I think it’s one of those winter soups that you can pack in a food jar as a meal in itself, and bring along some bread or piece of fruit.
This is me at work with my soup in jar. Quick lunch, saved some money, win-win.
Levain® Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let me introduce you to Levain® Bakery cookies. They started in New York and have a number of locations all over the city. My wife is such a big fan that we always went out of our way to buy their cookies whenever we visited New York or Washington D.C. where our son lives. And I’ve mail ordered their cookies before too.
The good news is that they now have a couple of locations in the Los Angeles area so they’re definitely expanding.
The bad news is that their cookies are a New Year’s resolution buster. There goes the diet one! But you can still save money by baking these at home, so we’re still on track?
These are the chocolate chip ones and they are known for their soft dough and massive chunky shape. In fact, the ones we baked here are probably smaller than the real ones, which are about the size of my wife’s fist. They are not cheap, but then again you do get a lot of cookie for the price.
Look for the copycat recipe online and bake them yourself. It’s worth breaking one resolution to keep the other. See what I did for you there?
Happy New Year of the Snake everyone!
Products used in this post: IH Rice Cooker & Warmer NP-HCC10, Micom Toaster Oven ET-ZLC30, Gourmet d’Expert® Electric Skillet EP-RAC50, Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-KA 40/52, Zojirushi x Hello Kitty® Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE50KT
Please note that these recipes were not tested by Zojirushi America.
All images by Bert Tanimoto ©2025
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