Substitutions and short cuts

[Skylace]

Sometimes when we're cooking we go to get out the ingredients and find we don't have enough or are totally out. Instead of running out to the store you may have a simple substitute already in the cupboard.

Like the other night. I needed breadcrumbs. I thought I had a big container full, but oops! Not so! So instead of running to the store to get one thing, I went to my cupboard and got out my box of Ritz crackers.

Taking about 20 crackers, a plastic baggie and a can of chicken soup, I had all the bread crumbs I needed and they were nice and buttery as well.

All I had to do was take the crackers, put them in the baggie (get the air out of the bag) and roll the chicken soup can on the bag to nicely crunch up the crackers. Viola! Instant bread crumbs.

I could have also used, Cornflakes, saltine crackers or even Rice Krispies.

Thanks to this easy substitution my schnitzel turned out great.

Do you have any other handy substitutions or cooking short cuts?

[luke]

[faceless]

When I used to be a vegetarian I came up with a surprising substitute for mince. If you fry/toast porridge oats with onion and soy sauce, they take on a very textured form which is as good as many textured proteins etc. When it's good and toasted, stick in some veggie gravy, carrots and potatoes and you've a great meal.

[SpursFan1902]

[Skylace]

[11antoniacourt]

Once I ground up a bag of slivered almonds that i had in the freezer and used them instead of breadcrumbs on chicken cutlets. Very, very yummy.

[eefanincan]

I've heard that stirring a tsp. of vinegar into a cup of milk will help "sour" it and it can be used in place of buttermilk in a recipe--- buttermilk is hard to find here.