When Ingredients Go Missing Try These Simple Substitutes

What happens when you find yourself right in the middle of cooking dinner and find out there's something missing? Perhaps you reach for the tomato juice in the refrigerator and find an empty can. Or the milk carton is surprisingly lightweight when you pick it up.  Or the package of cream cheese you knew you had is now just a mirage.

If you have been the victim of 'empty carton syndrome' in your house, you know what I'm talking about. When you are trying to get dinner on the table in a hurry, it's not a good time to find out you're missing an ingredient.

But, there are a few simple substitutes that work well enough to get your dinner out of the pot and onto the table. When you don't want to skip an ingredient entirely, these substitutes may be the next best thing.  Let's have a look, and the next time an ingredient goes missing, give these substitutes a try.

Tomato Juice - If a recipe calls for 1 cup of tomato juice, try instead mixing 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water. You may have to adjust the taste a little by adding salt.

Tomato Sauce - Mix a 6 ounce size can of tomato paste plus 1 cup of water to equal a 15 ounce size can of tomato sauce.

Ketchup - If you're cooking with 1 cup of ketchup, not serving it as a condiment, you can mix up a reasonable substitute with 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Chili Sauce - To substitute for 1 cup of chili sauce, mix together 1 cup tomato sauce with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons vinegar (any kind you like), and a dash each of cinnamon, ground cloves, and allspice.

Cream Cheese - For the missing cream cheese, substitute some ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, and beat it with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. If it seems too runny, press it through some cheesecloth.

Half and Half or Cream - Add a little butter or oil to whole milk, or use evaporated milk.

Buttermilk - Substitute the same amount with plain yogurt.

Dry Mustard - Replace 1 teaspoon of dry mustard with 1 tablespoon prepared mustard.

Brown Sugar - For 1 cup of brown sugar, mix together 1 cup of regular white granulated sugar with 1/4 cup molasses.

Cream of Soup - When a recipe calls for a condensed cream of anything soup, you can substitute a sauce made of 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 cup broth, and 1/2 cup milk. Cook in a saucepan until it thickens, then use in the recipe.

When you're trying to prepare dinner in the shortest time possible, you really don't have time to run to the store to get ingredients that have gone missing.  Try these simple substitutes when you need to keep the dinnertime production in motion!