Monday night as I was preparing Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
for dinner, I realized that I only had a ½ cup of sour cream, which is unusual
for me since I always have this on hand. I needed at least one cup of sour
cream because I wanted to double the batch of Enchiladas. I then remembered
that my daughter has been making homemade dip with sour cream and salsa this
week, so I figured that is where the sour cream disappeared.
No matter how well-stocked you keep your pantry, sometimes
you run out of an ingredient that you need for a recipe and it can be inconvenient
to run out and purchase the necessary ingredient. I know I would have to make a
ten mile round trip to pick up more sour cream, which was out of the question.
What should I have done?
I could have simply made one batch of the Enchiladas and
solved my problem, or I could use a substitution. Substituting an ingredient is
another frugal tool that we can use to save money in our kitchens.
I scrounged around in my refrigerator to see what I had on
hand. I had just picked up several blocks of cream cheese on sale the week
before, so I decided that would make a great substitution. And you know what?
It turned out we actually like the recipe even better with the added cream
cheese! How wonderful is that?
Here are some other substitutions that I personally make in
my kitchen:
Bouillon
cubes for Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable Broth
Regular
Milk plus Lemon Juice for Buttermilk
Cocoa
powder for chocolate baking squares
Cottage
Cheese or Yogurt for Sour Cream
Yogurt
Cheese in place of Cream Cheese
Here is a photo of the Mexican Rice that I served with the Enchiladas. The recipe calls for Pace Picante Sauce, but I have successfully substituted my own home canned salsa for the Picante sauce many times and have always been happy with the results.
If you are looking for an ingredient to substitute in one of your own recipes, there are a number of lists online that can help you with this. The University of Nebraska has an excellent article online
regarding commonly used substitutions, which can be found here.
I was glad that my recipe turned out well after substituting
an ingredient. I know that is not always the case though. Have you ever substituted
an ingredient in one of your recipes? What were the results?
Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
