Don't you hate missing ingredients? and waiting for payday
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
United States
September 6, 2011 12:55pm CST
I'm trying to figure out what to make tonight for dinner. I have some left over noodles that should be used up. I was thinking a casserole. Well I have no cream soups and no chicken (my hubby would be shocked if he realized this, as he complains all the time about all the chicken we eat) to make the chicken pot pie/casserole. Then I was thinking maybe taco's? No sour cream or tortilla chips. Then I was thinking I've got ham what can I do with it? Cream corn and ham... no cream corn. Maybe ham and potato skillet... not enough potatoes to go around. Then I was thinking with the noodles to make tuna salad... well I'd probably be the only one to eat it. UG! I've got some cash on me so I can go to Aldi. But not enough for all the items I am out of or would like to use in my cooking. And of course pay day is 2 days away! So I guess my strategy for today is to make a list of what I'd like to make and what I'm missing and work with the money I do have on hand to see what the best route is til Thursday.
Though they say necessity helps with creativity and coming up with new things. I just hope I can come up with something appealing. Outside of mac'n cheese w/ hotdogs that everyone will be willing to eat! *LOL*
2 people like this
14 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
6 Sep 11
Chop the ham into the noodles, make some white sauce to go in it and flavor it with... butter? Cheese? Maybe garlic and onions?
Or make a ham and potato soup. I don't know what else you have on hand, but you could make a sort of potato soup with onions and then add the chopped ham and when it was done, add milk and heat through. A dollop of butter and some salt if needed and there you go.
There are lots of things you can substitute, too. If you don't have sour cream, do you have milk and powdered milk? If so, mix in enough powdered milk to make a cup of milk kind of thick, then put in vinegar, a little at a time, until it sours. Beat it until it's smooth and there you have "sour cream."
If you have corn meal, make some corn bread and serve it with taco filling spooned over it.
Just some ideas.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
6 Sep 11
That is true I could add the ham to the noodles and build onto that. Isn't there a ham salad thing with noodles, peas and ?
No idea how to make potato soup, but I doubt what I have in potatoes would feed everyone.
I do have regular milk. Does it matter on the fat content of it as to how the sour cream would turn out?
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
8 Oct 11
I have often just had mac'n cheese with tuna (tuna mac) and I don't like it plain most of the time. I hope that isn't a chronic situation where you run out of food before the end of the month every month. I like to keep those two items around just in case because I like that combination, but other people complain that I made it too often in the past. Have a great weekend!!!
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
Nothing wrong with tuna mac! Everyone likes it quite well around here. I'm not out of food but just things that in my mind would go together that the kids would eat or like for a snack. I alot of times stock up on popcorn as I can find it really cheap here and it makes for a healthy snack so long as you don't bury it in butter and seasonings.
@cutepenguin (6430)
• Canada
8 Sep 11
I have this happen a lot. Sometimes just to use stuff up I end up making 3 different meals for everyone. At least I'm using up all the leftover bits.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
For some reason the kids don't dig left over night nor different meals than each other as they'll turn that into a reason to fight.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
6 Sep 11
Some of the very best dishes are invented under the stress you are discussing. If you have milk, butter and flour you can make a white sauce, add tuna to it and throw in your noodles, cooked. Sprinkle bread crumbs or cheese over the top and abake until warm in the oven. If you have frozen vegies you can add these to this dish. If you have taco sauce you can throw it over the noodles add a vegatable
If you want to use your ham, slice your potatoes in thin slices and cook with ham, this will make the potatoes go further. Just a couple of ideas.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
6 Sep 11
Thanks for the ideas pat! I don't have much cheese. And I do have some alfredo sauce as I stock up when I get to Super Walmart but I don't know that they'd eat it w/ tuna. That's where having some chicken or shimp on hand would come in handy. I have one picky eater w/ the veggies so it's usually a miss with her but sometimes she'll surprise you.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
9 Sep 11
I hate when that happens to me and it seems to happen to me all the time. I've got almost all of the stuff in the house right now to make some beef tips, but I'm missing the dry onion soup mix.
What I've started doing so that I don't make those kinds of mistakes all the time is to make sure that I write a list of things that I would like to eat and then I will go through my cabinets and write down a list of all of the things that I need. It really does make quite a difference.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
True but sometimes you can't buy all that you need you can only buy what you have money for. Though I did read once that you should rotate buying things you keep on hand so you always have them. You know like every time you are the store buy an extra box or two of mac'n cheese or cream soups ect and then rotate what you buy extra of. The problem is again having the money to be able to do that.
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
6 Sep 11
I know this feeling only to well. I look in the pantry, cupboards and refrigerator and there are times everything I think of, has one or two missing ingredients. So after pondering back and forth I usually come up with something.
So far no complaints and hey it is a meal so all are happy. 
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
7 Sep 11
All would be content but the picky kids. And the husband who'd like a hearty dinner of some sort... but you are right work with what ya got as a full belly of any kind is better than an empty one.
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
7 Sep 11
I seldom seem to run out of much, or I am just old enough that I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. I would probably cube the ham and add it to the noodles. I would make some kind of butter sauce and put on it. My son would say to put ranch dressing on it. I would put frozen peas and ham in the noodles, I think, based on what you say you have. Go to Aldi's tomorrow. Or if you have enough ground beef make "gravy train" and serve over the noodles. Ground beef and gravy.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
It's certainly a sucky situation. I know today the kids are flipping thru my recipes asking what they can make (I'm not feeling good) and I tell them NO... I don't have this... or that. As alot of the recipes are baking and I don't keep all of the ingredients around.
@carolscash (9491)
• United States
7 Sep 11
Bake the ham, cook the noodles and eat that. Add a little butter and salt to the noodles and they will be tasty! If you have some veggies, use them too and you will have a complete meal. I wish you the best in what you decide to eat.
@dragon54u (31633)
• United States
6 Sep 11
Cook the noodles! Dice your ham and put it in a pot with some margarine, about 1 tablespoon. When it melts, sprinkle some flour over it, about a tablespoon. Add some milk slowly, stirring it so it doesn't lump as it combines with the margarine. Add milk till you have enough sauce and ham for the noodles. Pour over the noodles. Add some canned vegetables if you want. Sprinkle a little garlic powder over the dish or add some oregano. Noodles can be made into anything!
With one potato you can make some great soup with that ham.
I wanted a taco the other day and didn't have tortillas. I spread beans, salsa and cheese on a piece of toast and put it in the toaster oven. Delicious! Toast is a great substitute for tacos shells, tortillas or tortilla chips.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
7 Sep 11
Any time we have nights like that we end up inventing something we love! One time, when hubby was feeling too lazy to make regular tacos, he created taco mac cheese. Kids love it.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
That's true we do make something similar with salsa and ground turkey added to the Mac'n Cheese. I made 2 boxes worth the other night, I should of made a 3rd! But it seems whenever I make more than 1 lately it never gets finished up.
@epicure35 (2814)
• United States
7 Sep 11
A basic white sauce (bechamel) will do for "cream soup". Flour and butter make a roux, add milk (or cream or 1/2 and 1/2) stirring until just bubbly. Nutmeg, salt and pepper to season. Then you can add mushrooms, or whatever you desire.
Turn it into a mornay or cheese sauce by adding any variety of cheeses.
You can use the bechamel or just plain cream to make "creamed corn".
You could do a ham, potato, corn hash with some onion and seasonings, also hot sauce.
Noodles are a good foil for both sauces and ham could be added either way, even for salad, no sauce needed.
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
Thats a good idea too bad I don't keep half and half or cream around.
@megamatt (14290)
• United States
7 Sep 11
I think that has happened. Just one little thing out of place. One thing that can be easily replaced granted with something similar or even slightly different. Still I could have sworn everything was right here in the house. And then there is nothing in the house. I've had that problem once or twice, but I have known people that have gotten frustrated. Naturally there comes a time where people should just think on their feet and they may stumble upon something different.
Now granted, what they stumble on could be something rather great. Or it could be some horrifying thing that just did not work out. However, you never truly do know until someone tries it out. After all, variety is in fact the spice of life. Trying different things could open many doors. It could lead to some great things and it could lead to a lot of wonderful opportunities. Including with making meals especially. Granted, some people, its going to blow up in our faces, but with other people, what the heck.
@rose1717 (190)
• United States
7 Sep 11
This is why I have a stockpile of food. Not only does it come in handy in times like this when so many are or have lost jobs, I don't ever have to worry about not having something for supper. I started this way back when we lived out in the country and far away from any of the stores out of nessesary. Now it is habbit but one I am glad that I have because we get a lot of freezing rain in winter and with just a inch of snow everything shuts down.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
9 Oct 11
That is true you do want to keep a stock pile if weather or money is tight. The grocery store is across the street so getting there wouldn't be too bad. We only shut down around here when we get 12-16inches of snow and the plows can't keep up. That happens maybe once every winter. I think last year we had 8ft snow drifts in spots.
