White Sauce

   This is the basic sauce that I use for most of my sauces (or gravies). I use it when making scalloped potatoes, tuna gravy for toast, sausage or hamburger gravy for biscuits. I make it with chicken broth instead of milk for my chicken pot pie. I often add Velveeta cheese for a cheesy sauce. My husband likes the cheese sauce on his biscuits. When I make my roast beef gravy, I use the beef juices instead of the milk. This recipe is very versatile.

White Sauce
Indgredients:
   2 tablespoons butter
   ½ teaspoon of salt
   ⅛ teaspoon of pepper
   2 tablespoons of flour
   1 cup of milk

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add salt and pepper, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir until smooth. I like to use a whisk for this. Gradually add milk and stir constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Return to heat and stir constantly until sauce begins to boil. Otherwise, continue stirring until thick (about 2 to 3 minutes).
Makes 1 cup.

Notes:
If making for scalloped potatoes or chicken pot pie, remove from heat as soon as it begins to boil.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

   We have had great luck with our tomato plants this year! They are producing abundantly and taste delicious. We are excited to finally "taste" tomatoes again, as last summer the tomatoes seemed to have no taste at all.
   Since we have so many tomatoes, I decided to try my hand at making homemade sauce. For my first attempt, I tried a five star recipe I found online. It had carrots, onions, celery, blah..blah..blah. (You get the idea.) While it was good... it was not great!
   For my second attempt, I just stuck to the basics. Tomatoes! It turned out really great!

   Here is how I made my sauce:

Step 1:
   I washed my tomatoes.

Step 2:
   I placed about 3 or 4 tomatoes at a time in boiling water for 10-30 seconds...just until the skin began to wrinkle or crack.

Step 3:
   I immediately removed them with a slotted spoon and placed them in cold water.

Repeat Steps 2 & 3 for all your tomatoes.

Step 4:
   Next, I removed the core of each tomato and then the skin.

Step 5:
   I placed the tomatoes a few at a time in a blender and pureed them.

Step 6:
   I then placed all my tomato puree in a large pan on low heat. I added salt, pepper, basil, oregano, minced onions, olive oil, and a packge of Italian Spaghetti seasoning. Just season it to your own taste! You can use fresh onions and saute them in the olive oil before adding them to your tomatoes.

Step 7:
   Simmer uncovered to thicken up the sauce. This may take a couple of hours depending on how juicy your tomatoes are or how thick you like your sauce. You can also add tomato paste to thicken it up a bit faster.

Step 8:
   Serve over your favorite pasta!

Enjoy!