Pam-Cakes

Use a light hand when stirring the batter, overmixing will cause a rubbery texture.

The most amazing pancakes ever. These pancakes come out super fluffy and light. Leroy gave them two thumbs up. Will never go back to packaged pancake mix again.

Lara via Southern Living

Pam-Cakes

1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 butter, melted

preparation

1. combine flour and next four ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk and eggs. Gradually stir buttermilk minture into flour mixture. Gently stir in butter. Batter will be lumpy.

Lara's Pizza Sauce

I made this sauce last year but I decided to tweak it a little bit more for the best most amazing pizza sauce. I ended up with a half case of seconds tomatoes from a guy on the side of the road selling produce. The guy gave me all the tomatoes for free plus I had a couple of tomatoes from my garden to add to this sauce. I always make my pizza dough from scratch and it's so nice to be able to open up a jar of sauce that's ready to use.

Lara's Special Pizza Sauce

5-6 pints

25-28 tomatoes or 15 large size tomatoes in 3" diameters
2 large onions, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbps olive oil
2 Tbps lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbps Sugar
4 TBPS fresh parsley, chopped
1 TBPS oregano
1 TBPS basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp salt
2 8 oz cans of tomato paste

directions:

1. Dice tomatoes and cook tomatoes on med heat for 30 minutes!
2. Puree tomatoes in bender....two cups at a time
3. Mince the onion and garlic
4. Put olive oil in deep pan and saute the onions and garlic until transparent. Add onions and garlic to tomatoe puree and the rest of the ingredients; stir well to blend. Cook on low until mixture is reduced. Keep stirring occasionally for 1.5 or 2 hours.
5. When sauce is done and nicely thickened, ladle into hot pint size jars, clean the rims of the jars, and seal. Process for 25 mintues in water bath or pressure cook for 15 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure.

enjoy!

Olive Garden Italian Dressing

*Sara*
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.

Summer Pasta Salad

Created by Me (Lara):

1 box of bowtie pasta

6-8 slices of bacon and crumbled
two carrots shredded
1/2 cup of peas
2 stalks of celery diced
half of red onion-diced
1 cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half

dressing
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
3 tbps of fresh parsley
2 shakes of ms. dash
1 tsp salt and pepper too taste
1 tsp or more of garlic salt

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

from Kitchen Simplicity

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate - inspired by Martha Stewart
3/4 cup strawberry puree (below)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice (approximately 4 lemons)
Mix ingredients together and use immediately or freeze in a small storage container.
To serve: Add 5 cups cold water and stir to combine. Add additional sugar if needed.*
Makes: 6 cups juice

Tips
*Every fruit has a different level of sugar and every person has a different personal preference. That is why you may need to add more sugar. It's better to not have enough the first time and have to add more then to have too much and not be able to take any out.

*I like to use sparkling water for an even more refreshing taste.

* To store flat: line a large mug with a resealable plastic bag and pour in concentrate, remove excess air and seal tightly. This way you can stack them on top of each other in the freezer and they don't take up as much space.

* You may need to thaw it a bit before using. To do this quickly, place under hot running tap water.

Strawberry puree
2 cups strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
2 tsp. sugar
Blend until smooth. Strain through sieve to remove seeds.
*This makes a little more then needed in the above recipe. Any extra puree can be frozen, in tablespoon portions, in ice cube trays, for later use.

Cheesy Mac and BeefChristine0120

1 lb ground beef chuck
1 (14.5-oz) can beef broth
1 cup water 8 oz
elbow macaroni (2 cups)
1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup processed cheese sauce
8 oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat large sauté pan (or electric skillet) on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place ground beef in pan; cook 5–7 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, or until beef is brown and no pink remains. Stir in broth, water, and macaroni; bring to a boil. Cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is mostly absorbed and macaroni is soft and tender. Stir milk into pasta; remove from heat (or turn heat off). Stir in both cheeses until smooth and melted. Serve.

Best Meatloaf with Tomato and Brown Sugar Glaze

2 lbs ground beef (or 1 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound each of ground pork and ground veal)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or yogurt
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme flakes
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs, oatmeal, or crushed saltine crackers

For glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cider or white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium skillet sauté onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool while assembling meatloaf. Whisk together eggs, milk, thyme, mustard, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Add to meat along with bread crumbs or oatmeal, onions and garlic, and combine gently but thoroughly (don't mush meatloaf too much or it will be tough). Shape into a 9x5 inch loaf. (I like to line a loaf pan with parchment or plastic wrap and put the meat in the loaf pan and then invert it back into the baking dish and remove the parchment- that way you get a uniform loaf shape that bakes evenly). And place into a foil-lined shallow baking dish. Combine ingredients for the glaze and brush half of the glaze on the meatloaf before baking. Brush the remaining glaze on the meatloaf about 15 minutes before it comes out of the oven. Bake about 1 hour or until internal temperature reads at 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Allow to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.