A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE

Preparations for dinner were well underway at Mother’s Littlest Helper’s house. I had already learned the lesson of labeling cooked food as “do not eat”.

As I grabbed all my ingredients for dinner in his refrigerator, the mozzarella cheese was missing.

I checked the drawer where I had placed all the ingredients. All I had to do was grab and go to the counter to cook.

When the cheese was missing, I checked the lower drawer in the refrigerator. No cheese.

Then I checked the upper shelves of the refrigerator and yet still no cheese to be found.

Short of having a mouse in the house, what could have happened to the package of mozzarella cheese!

His dog had already consumed a bag of 8 hamburger buns left on the kitchen counter but he had not mastered the art of opening the refrigerator door. It could not have been his beloved pet pooch.

His roommate had not been at the house.

Old Mother Sherlock Hubbard could only deduce one thing. Mother’s Littlest Helper was now eating the ingredients, not only the cooked food.

“Um…Mother’s Littlest Helper, did you eat the rest of the mozzarella cheese”?

Sure enough, he did and now I’m left to punt with what to use for cheese in my stuffed chicken breast recipe.

During my search of his refrigerator, there was a sleeve of cream cheese and a tub of garlic/herb cheese spread. I opted for the more flavorful garlic/herb cheese spread. In the end, it was delicious and he never realized a replacement cheese was used in the recipe.

SOUND THE BULGE! Today’s tip: Going to the grocery store to replace an ingredient that you don’t have on hand is costly to the budget. Unless you have tremendous will power, you will buy more than what you went into the store to buy for your recipe. There are frugal options! You can find a replacement ingredient; do without the ingredient or borrow the ingredient from a neighbor.