Most families seek quick easy recipes today in order to still provide a home-cooked meal for their busy families. One of the problems in following any recipe is the last minute discovery that you are missing an ingredient that is important. If you are in the middle of the recipe, it can be even a worse problem. Ideally, a recipe should be prepared with the exact ingredients called for, but here are a few solutions that you can keep handy for those times when that is not possible.

Being out of eggs or milk can stop any cook in their tracks. Cooking oil, canned evaporated milk and baking powder can be used to replace eggs or refrigerated milk in almost any recipe. For instance, an egg can be replaced by mixing together 1 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp oil + 1 tsp baking powder. Canned evaporated milk can be used in equal quantities as called for in a recipe.

When it comes to cheeses, there are so many reciprocating substitutions that I pretty much use whatever I have on hand that is of a similar consistency as the recipe calls for. This is especially helpful if the recipe calls for an expensive cheese or one I am not likely to have on hand. And, of course, when it comes to mild vs. medium vs. sharp, you cannot go wrong using what you know your family already likes.

Liquids are a key ingredient in any recipe, and there are substitutions available here, too. Lemon, grapefruit and pineapple juices are usually interchangeable without compromising any of the fruity flavor. If using grapefruit juice in place of either of the other two juices, you may want to add a small amount of sugar to compensate for the tartness. If lemon juice is called for in a recipe (other than in beverages), vinegar can be substituted, but only use half as much vinegar as what is called for (i.e. - if the recipe calls for 1 cup of lemon juice, you can substitute cup of vinegar instead). Tomato juice is sometimes called for, and equal amounts of water and tomato paste is a good substitute. (i.e. - cup tomato paste + cup water = 1 cup tomato juice).

There are similar lists of substitutions for herbs and spices, meats, fish, seafood and vegetables, so as you can see, when you find you are missing an ingredient for a recipe, that does not have to stop you from preparing it. Finding out what the substitutions are ahead of time and keeping the list handy will give you extra confidence when you cook, and especially if you lead a fast-paced life that cannot afford lost time.