The Odessa Record -

Crazy weather, causing extended travel delays has cleared area store shelves of a number of often-used ingredients. Items with a short shelf life are quickly bought up and stores wait for fresh orders to come in. What can the meal planner do?

Plan ahead for grocery supply interruptions. Substitute ingredients for missing items. Keep a package of powdered milk on hand in case stores run out of fresh milk. Canned milk diluted maybe substituted in most recipes. Canned kidney or other beans maybe substituted for the protein in many casseroles.

If you don’t have abundant freezer space to store...