Make your own substitutes...

Sometimes I don't make a recipe just because it has an ingredient that I don't usually keep on hand, (such as buttermilk or cake flour ). I just don't want to purchase something that I am only going to probably need the one time! So I am always looking for substitutions with ingredients that I have on hand so that I don't need to spend the extra money.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• 1 cup buttermilk = 1 TBSP lemon juice/white vinegar plus enough milk to total 1 cup. (You must let it sit for a few minutes to thicken.) You can also substitute 1 cup of plain yogurt!
• 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup minus 2 TBSP all purpose flour
• 1 cup self rising flour = 1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder plus 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup honey = 1 1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup half/half cream = 1 TBSP melted butter plus enough whole milk to total 1 cup
• 1 cup whole milk = 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp allspice = 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup light corn syrup = 1 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp baking powder = 1/2 tsp cream of tartar plus 1/4 tsp baking soda

If there are other ingredients you are looking for a substitution for, just google it. You are bound to find someone who has found a substitute in the past!