Substitutions or a Better Mousetrap?

We’ve all heard the phrase (or maybe us old-timers have heard this) “…build a better mousetrap”.  It just means improving the original. It’s no secret that I love, LOVE substitutes of anything than can save me money and/or time. Over the years, I’ve found substitutes for recipe ingredients that have been, more times than not, even better than the original ingredient. So today I’ll share a couple of my time-tested substitutions (or better-than-the-original) recipes.

Homemade PANCAKE SYRUP

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla (I prefer to use slightly less)
2 teaspoons butter flavoring extract (I prefer to use slightly less)
1 teaspoon maple flavoring extract (I prefer to use slightly more)

Bring all to boil in a saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves (a good rolling boil).
Turn off burner but leave pot on burner until bubbling stops.
Makes 3 3/4 cups (30 ounces)

You can substitute the molasses and sugar with 3 cups of brown sugar instead.
Store in the refrigerator, preferably in a glass container to keep sugar crystals from forming.
This recipe can be halved to fit in a smaller 16 ounce bottle.

With the price of real maple syrup being totally unaffordable for me, this is a yummy and inexpensive substitute that is totally hubby-approved. You can tweak the amounts of flavoring to your taste. I think it would store indefinitely in a glass container in the fridge but it doesn’t seem to last too long around here. Hubby loves to put it on his pancakes made with my homemade biscuit mix that I wrote about yesterday.

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CREAM SOUP Substitute

2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly.
Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth.
Return to heat.
Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Taste and add salt and pepper as needed to taste.
Equals 1 can condensed cream soup.

Use in casseroles in place of condensed cream soups.

This cream soup base can be varied by using vegetable broth, sauteed chopped celery, celery seed or sauteed chopped mushrooms. Add herbs and/or seasonings as desired.

The varieties are endless with this, a real budget saver!

Today is my mother’s birthday and I thought I’d share a picture of my mom and me (pre-siblings) when I was around two-years old. This was at Easter time and my mother sewed both of our matching outfits. Mom tells me that it was very cold and windy the day this picture was taken but by looking at the smile on my face, I don’t think I noticed.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

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