Cooking Blunder

[colormist]

I was preparing a dinner of Tuscan Chicken the other night and the recipe called for sour cream. I check the fridge and our sour cream expired a few weeks ago, so I toss it and grab my plain yogurt instead and put a dolip of plain yogurt on the casserole.

While eating, my husband asks, "why does this taste so sweet?"

I reply, "Oh, it's probably the sweet peppers."

We both decide we don't like the dinner and neither really finishes the meal. That's one good thing about being the cook in the family, I don't have to worry about anybody cooking something that's unsafe.

Today, I pack my plain yogurt (I buy it in the big tub) and around lunchtime I get my yogurt from the fridge. I get a heaping spoonful and shove it in my mouth, only to spit it back into the container.

Eyes wide, I look at the lid "Low-fat yogurt" then at the side of the container "Vanilla yogurt". I don't even think I tasted the yogurt before I spit it back out. Meijers really needs start labelling their yogurt more clearly.

So THAT's why the Tuscan chicken turned out so horrible. It also explains why I was so miserable that evening and the following Monday.

Has anyone else had any cooking blunders?

[kristen]

I haven't had any blunders (yet), but have purchased things that were (at the last trip to the grocery store) safe and have somehow changed form. It's annoying to say the least...but why we have learned to stock up (when possible) when we find safe stuff.

It's irritating too, because sometimes the exact same product can be very different between stores. I know from Marketing classes that it's pretty common for manufacturers to cheapen products to provide them at a lower price in discount type stores. But until now, I had no idea that this also occured in foods! Well, outside generics that is...but I thought that was all due to less marketing expense (and generally cheaper ingredients).

But luckily for us, in general, the cheaper version under the same brand generally means it has less of the 'bad stuff' (like the generics). But it also means that you can't take a product at face value, ever...you HAVE to read labels everytime, in every store.

Makes food shopping extra-extra special for those of us who really relish the task to begin with!

Let us know how the Tuscan Chicken comes out with the 'correct' ingredient...sounds delish!

KJ