This is information from The Cook's Thesaurus (link below): Substitutes for one cup sour cream: Blend one cup cottage cheese plus two or three tablespoons milk or buttermilk plus two tablespoons lemon juice OR blend equal parts cottage cheese and plain yogurt OR blend one cup cottage cheese plus one-third of a cup buttermilk plus one tablespoon lemon juice. (Adapted from directions in the Joy of Cooking by Marion Rombauer Becker and Irma Rombauer. See my sources.) OR blend one cup cottage cheese plus two tablespoons lemon juice plus two tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise plus one-fourth cup nonfat buttermilk (adapted from a recipe in the New Laurel's Kitchen Cookbook) OR Combine 7/8 cup buttermilk or yogurt plus three tablespoons butter or margarine (From a Gateway Virginia recipe. See my sources.) OR one cup buttermilk OR one cup well-drained yogurt (if making cheesecake, use whole milk yogurt) OR one cup sour milk OR let stand for 5 minutes: one cup evaporated milk plus one tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar OR jocoque OR smetana (lower calories) I would caution when cooking with yogurt \- it will separate if allowed to boil. Separating doesn't affect the flavor, just looks, and it can be prevented by using flour, cornstarch or arrowroot in sauces. Yogurt (or kefir) can be substituted for sour cream in nearly any recipe, in my experience. I use homemade kefir (drained at least 30\-minutes) all the time as a substitute for sour cream. \-Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: [Cook's Thesaurus \- cultured milk](http://www.foodsubs.com/Cultmilk.html)

Well, my "recipe" depends on how you want to use the mix. If you want to actually make a yellow cake, I like this one. I got the recipe in a link from a site called "Community Chickens", LOL. Yup, it's about chickens, go figure. Anyway, it linked to a blog called "chickensintheroad", who had this recipe. How to make Homemade Yellow Cake Mix: (This is the standard size mix for recipes calling for an 18.25 ounce mix.) 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat dry milk. Store in an airtight container or baggie. Keeps well in the pantry for months! To replace in recipes calling for a standard-size 18.25 ounce store-bought yellow cake mix: Use in any recipe calling for a yellow cake mix as a base (add 1 teaspoon vanilla to the recipe along with the cake mix as the recipe will assume vanilla was included in the store-bought mix). Or to make a basic yellow cake, use the following instructions. Cake mix directions:. 1 recipe Homemade Yellow Cake Mix 3/4 cup water 1 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 cup butter, softened 3 eggs Place Homemade Yellow Cake Mix in a bowl. Add water, vanilla, butter, and eggs. Combine with an electric mixer then beat two more minutes. Pour into a greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350-degrees, using these baking times (watch carefully as your oven may vary��"test for doneness using a toothpick): 8″ or 9″ cake rounds ��" 20-25 minutes 13 x 9 pan ��" 35-40 minutes cupcakes ��" 12-15 minutes tube/bundt pan ��" 45-50 minutes Don’t overbake! You’ll dry out your cake. NOTE: If you don’t like using dry milk in your cakes, you can always leave the dry milk out of the mix. When making the cake, replace the water in the recipe with milk. If you're using it for topping, etc., one with added fat would probably work better, like this one: Yellow Cake "Master Mix" 2 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 scant teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup butter Thoroughly combine dry ingredients together. Cut the butter into small pieces throughout the flour. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is thoroughly incorporated (very small pieces, like sand). To make this into two 8 inch layers, use the entire recipe of Master Mix and add: 2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup oil 3 eggs 1 cup milk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8" round cake pans OR one 13" x 9" cake pan with nonstick baking spray containing flour and set aside. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Make a well in center of mix and add vanilla, oil, eggs, and milk. Beat mixture 1 minute with electric mixer at low speed until blended. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and beat 2 minutes longer at medium speed until batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake the layer cakes at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until cake springs back when pressed lightly in center and begins to pull away from edges of pan. Bake the 9" x 13" cake for 25-35 minutes until the cake tests done. The "Master Mix" can be made in larger quantities, but must be refrigerated, whereas the first recipe can just be kept in the pantry without spoiling or becoming rancid. Have fun! Annie

Thank you Joe for your comment. I've believed this for some time (lots of evidence, but it hasn't filtered down yet) but have refrained from mentioning it since the notion is so ingrained. Back in the early 1900s when people ate lots and lots of full fat dairy, heart attacks were very rare. Yes, it's carbs, processed foods high in trans fats and lacking fiber to balance sugars, and even sugar substitutes that still get the metabolic systems going crazy.

Annie1992, Here it is: Great-Grandma's Pumpkin Cobbler 1 stick butter 1 cup Self-rising flour (or make it self rising, if you don't keep it in the house) 1 cup Sugar 1 cup Milk 1 tsp Vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 5 oz can evaporated milk 1 30 oz can pumpkin pie mix (I use i Libby's in a pinch, usually make my own) Method: Cut butter into 4 - 6 pieces and place in 9 x 11 glass baking dish Pre-heat oven to 350° and place baking dish in while pre-heating long enough to melt the butter. In medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, milk and vanilla extract together. When butter is melted, tip around in pan to make sure entire bottom is buttered. Pour batter over butter in baking dish. Do not stir or re-arrange. Now break eggs into another bowl, and whisk until foamy. Add evaporated milk and pumpkin pie filling. Stir to mix well. Spoon or pour pumpkin mixture over crust batter, trying to somewhat evenly distribute. Do not stir. Bake 50-60 minutes, until crust is dark, golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and let cool at least 20 minutes before serving, with/or without whipped cream. If there is any left, it will keep several days in the refrigerator. It is great cold or it can be warmed in the microwave. To make a fruit cobbler using this recipe, make the batter portion according to the directions and then mix your fruit with whatever amount of sugar you think it will take. (Some fruits (blackberries for sure) I pre-cook in a sauce pan to ensure that they are soft and sweet when the cobbler is done). Just place the fruit over the batter in place of the pumpkin mixture and bake according to the same directions. Enjoy -- Lisa