The Nameless Dish

Budgets are a great thing! They keep one organized and, obviously, on top of their finances. But what happens when one runs out of money from their grocery budget for the month?? They are left to dig through their cabinets and refrigerators, praying to make something edible. What would you do if that happened to you? Scream? Panic?! Curse the day you spent too much at the grocery a few weeks ago?!? "Why did I have to buy that extra (fill in the blank)????"  Years ago, Mom ran into the situation and created a dish called macasagna. It was really good and is now one of our family faves!

As you can already imagine, this happened to me just this past weekend. Hubby and I are very strict with our cash budget system....meaning, if we run out then we are out until the next month. Not like we couldn't just go and use our debit cards. BUT discipline is key! And apparently I forgot that last month because when I looked in my grocery envelope it was empty! So what did I do? Looked at what I did have and got to work. Lo and behold! We had some sausages in the back of my meat drawer. Perfect for grilling! Meat? Check. Side dish....uh.........hm.....I had some mashed potatoes mix, 1/2 cup of sour cream, ranch dressing mix, 1/2 a bag of bacon bits, and some cheese. TADAH! I had my side dish. A little thing I like to call....well, I don't actually have a name for them yet. If you come up with one, let me know! ;-) Here's what I did:
1. Made the spuds according to directions. Spread half of the potatoes in a casserole dish. Set aside.
2. Mixed together the last bit of sour cream I had with the ranch dressing mix. I then spread that on top of the potatoes and spread the remaining potatoes on top.
3. Then I sprinkled the top with the cheese and bacon bits.
Into the oven (you could also use your broiler) it went. I kept it in there till the top was melted and the middle warm. *I personally prefer homemade mashed potatoes but the box mix was all I had.* Sure, there are a few things with the dish I would tweak but all in all I was a happy camper with the way it turned out! Hubs was too which is always an A++ in my book!

What dishes have you created out of desperation? Were they awesome? Were they awful? Are they now a regular at your home?