Improvise

Thanks to shortages and limited trips to the grocery store, home chefs may come into some problems. The big one is what happens when you run out or don't have a specific ingredient? One word: improvise. Get creative and smart with recipes and you may come up with a tasty new version.

Two dishes that can be creatively altered are chili and tomato sauce. The basic ingredients never vary , tomato sauce and tomato paste. After that you can be innovative. If you don't have enough chili powder then give it a mole vibe by grating 85 to 95 extra dark chocolate into it early on. You could also add a tiny pinch of cocoa powder too for more or less the same flavor. As for beans you don't have to stick with kidney or pinto ones.Try any white bean like a white pinto or pigeon peas for a milder, sweeter flavor. Also if you don't have any chili or red pepper, a double grind of black pepper will give it the bite needed. As for tomato sauce, again you can get innovative as you want. If there's no beef or chicken, then think fish. Tuna can easily be subbed in. You can use the water based or ones in oil. The last may be better because the oil adds a smoothness to the sauce's texture. Just cut back on adding olive oil to it. As for spices , thyme can replace oregano , while minced scallions can fill in for chopped onions.

Cow's milk is flying off the shelves right now. However you can easily switch to any of the plant based ones, from soy to oat, and cashew to almond.If you're using the milks for baking use the same amount you would for regular milk. For ice cream lovers with a milk and/or cream shortage - not to worry. Again almond milk comes to the rescue. You can even make ice cream with it and create a variety from chocolate mint to peanut butter to pure vanilla. Make this and have the kids toss in some of their favorite salty and sweet snacks from pretzels to chopped Easter candy. As for the chocolate sauce for those scoops or any scoops, melt chocolate in the microwave. You can even melt candy bars down for an addictive sauce that has bits of caramel and nougat. Melt down Nestle Crunch bars for a tasty topping for ice cream and fruit. Out of chocolate sprinkles? Use your grater on chocolate  bars to create fancy patterns on sundaes, cupcakes and cakes. You can do the same with crushed nuts too and cookies crumbs.

Improvise. That's what will keep you going during this difficult time. Use your mind , use your creativity to keep cooking tasty dishes.