It's 10 o'clock at night and you just broke your blender jar or you can't find your measuring cups and the Super Wal-Mart is to far away.  You might want to try one of the following substitutes.

YOU NEED: a blender jar
YOU CAN USE: a quart-size mayonnaise or Mason jar 
Which is cheaper to buy a whole new blender or just replace that busted blender jar? Until you figure that one out, you might try this: Many detachable blade assemblies screw right onto a mayo jar or a small-mouth Mason jar. Don’t fill it by more than half, though, and as with any regular blender, avoid very hot liquids.

YOU NEED: measuring cups
YOU CAN USE: yogurt containers
And you thought they were good only for storing leftovers. An 8-ounce container, filled to a pinkie’s thickness from the rim, holds about 1 cup of flour or liquid. A quart container, filled to the same distance from the rim, holds 4 cups. Use this Band-Aid solution for small-scale cooking -- pancakes, rice, soups -- rather than for serious baking projects, which demand exact measurements.

YOU NEED: a pizza cutter
YOU CAN USE: a pair of scissors
You’ll invest in a pizza wheel as soon as you install a brick oven in your kitchen. Until then, plain old kitchen shears will cut through crust and hot toppings without drama or fuss. For really hot pizza, use an oven mitt or tongs with your other hand to hold the crust while you cut.

YOU NEED: a biscuit cutter
YOU CAN USE: a 6-ounce tomato-paste can
Here’s one way to look at it: Most biscuit cutters make overly wide biscuits, anyway. Use a tomato-paste can to achieve the proper size. First, scoop out the paste and freeze it in Tupperware or a storage bag. Then remove both the top and the bottom with a can opener and wash the interior. To prevent sticking, dip the can in flour before each cut.

YOU NEED: a rolling pin
YOU CAN USE: a wine bottle (empty or unopened)
Sure, you can fork over the $40 for something you use only at holiday time, but why when a wine bottle works just as well? Sandwich your pastry between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to prevent sticking. Press down firmly on the bottle with one hand; grip the neck and steer with your other. (If you chill the dough to firm it up, do so briefly: Slightly firm dough is easiest to control.)

YOU NEED: a milk frother
YOU CAN USE: a whisk and a saucepan
First of all, a milk frother is kitchen clutter. Second, it sounds worse than a sick vacuum cleaner. To whip up a cappuccino quickly and quietly: Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat until it is frothy on top but isn’t yet climbing the sides of the pan. Then whisk the milk rapidly to the desired frothiness, about 1 minute, taking care not to scald it. Pour into coffee; serve immediately.

YOU NEED: a cake dome
YOU CAN USE: a salad-spinner bowl
Even if you bake a layer cake about as often as leap yearShort cut to Cats Creek Kitchen Store swings by, you’ll eventually need a cake cover. How better to preserve that buttercream still life you’ve created? Just invert the outer bowl of your salad spinner over the cake. To transport, put the cake on a large base and use masking tape to secure the dome.