Homemade Yogurt - Cooler Method

Contributed by Susanna Holcomb

Original Source: www.thefrugalgirl.com

 

Okay here is the link to the homemade yogurt recipe. I am linking to the original in fairness to the author. :) Here is what I do that is a little different. I don't boil my containers...I just make sure that they are clean. I also pour boiling water in the cooler. I found that it cools off too much otherwise. I will say that I keep my cooler in our unheated garage so the temperature outside does effect it. I also make the yogurt in the evening and let it sit overnight - much longer than 3 hours. This does result in a much more tart yogurt. It is a thinner consistency than store bought but that is because we are not using pectin. Often I make 2 gallons at a time and mix whole milk and 2%. Why so much? Because it does not take that much longer to do 2 gallons at once and it will... keep in the fridge for up to one month. The other change that I do is this - I make 1/2 of the batch vanilla and put it in half-pint mason jars. (they were much cheaper than other small glass with lid options.) This allows my 8 year old and others to have a serving of yogurt with ease. The plain yogurt I make in quart mason jars. I put both in the cooler as the size of the container does not effect the culturing time. Still not convinced to make yogurt? A gallon of milk = a gallon of yogurt. In my neck of the woods a gallon of milk is $2.98 and the last time I bought a quart of plain yogurt it was $1.97 (x4= $7.88) If your family eats a lot of yogurt is worth it to at least try it. Oh, do you like fruit in your yogurt? You can add jam, jelly or fresh fruit to it after it is made. Happy yogurt making!

 

The recipe (from The Frugal Girl):

Homemade Yogurt (makes 4 quarts, which will keep for at least a month in the fridge)
For vanilla yogurt directions, see the bottom of the recipe.
Ingredients
1 gallon of milk
1 cup yogurt starter(you can use a small cup of plain Dannon or Yoplait yogurt, or you can use a cup from your previous batch.)
1. Place four quart glass canning jars, four lids, and four screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.
2. Pour one gallon of milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185-190 degrees Farenheit(90-90 Celcius).
3. Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120 degrees fahrenheit(50-55 degrees celsius)
4. Stir one cup of yogurt starter into the cooled milk, using a whisk. Stir well to ensure that the starter is thoroughly incorporated into the milk.
5. Pour the milk into jars, and put the lids and bands on. Place them into a cooler.
6. Heat one gallon of water to 120 degrees F(50-55 degrees C) and pour into cooler.
7. Shut cooler lid and leave in a warm place for three hours. When the three hours are up, place the yogurt in the refrigerator.
To make a delicious vanilla version of this yogurt, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the four quarts of milk when it’s cooling in the sink. Then stir in 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla, depending on your preference, and proceed as usual with the recipe.

Homemade Yogurt - Crockpot Method

Contributed by Kathleen PierceOriginal Source: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2011/03/17/making-homemade-yogurt/

I remembered someone on here posting about making yogurt in a crockpot, but then I couldn't find the post so I ordered a yogurt maker on Amazon. But then I got to thinking...why spend $40 when I already own a crockpot and know it's possible? So I canceled my order and did a quick internet search. And...this morning I have yogurt sitting in my crockpot! Real easy too - here's how:
1. Turn crockpot on low and add 1/2 gallon milk (any - whole, 2%, etc. I used whole organic).
2. Leave for 2 1/2 hours on low.
3. After 2 1/2 hours, turn crockpot off and leave for 3 hours.
4. At the 3 hour mark, take 1/2 c. yogurt starter (this could be an actual starter you buy online or just plain yogurt you buy at the store, but make sure it has "live" cultures listed in its ingredients. I used some raw milk yogurt donated for this experiment by a friend (thanks, Heidi!)). Anyway, take the 1/2 c. starter and, in a separate bowl, mix in 2 cups of the warmed milk with the starter. I also at this point added 1 c. nonfat milk powder as this is supposed to add a creamier texture. Pour the milk/yogurt (and milk powder) mixture back into the crockpot and replace the lid.
5. Now, still keeping the crockpot unplugged, wrap a big towel around it to keep it insulated. Then just leave for 8 hours and come back to your yogurt!

I was a little skeptical, but it works! The yogurt is quite a bit thinner than what you buy in the store, but that is actually better for cooking. And what we plan to eat, I'll run through some cheesecloth and a strainer to thicken. I also have some yogurt cheese going, which is delicious as sour cream (I'll never buy sour cream again!).

Baked Oatmeal (with Yogurt)

(Contributed by Esther)

Mix together: 1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup yogurt
2 cups oats
Bake 30 minutes at 350 in a 9 inch ungreased round pan, or 15-20 minutes in muffin tins. Pour warm milk and sprinkle cinnamon on it to serve. OPTION: Add some cinnamon to the cake when mixing.

Taken from a cookbook called "Wild Boar on the Kitchen Floor".

Mexican Shrimp Salad

(Contributed by Lori)
1 pound cooked shrimp
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup carrots, cut in 1/2" chunks
1 pickled jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3 cups romaine lettuce, torn in 1" pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved if large)
1 cup frozen corn (oops, not whole, I guess and I actually used canned which was fine)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill.

4-6 servings

Banana Bread

Today was a busy day. For one, last night the moment Irene made her exit, our power went out, prompting us to take our frozen and refrigerated food to a friend's house. Our power was only out for a couple of hours, but I waited until this morning to go get our food.

While I was retrieving our food, I stopped by a farm. I've said before how much I love all of the farms around here; you don't see this in the south. We have 3 or 4 of them within a mile or two of our house. If you remember, I visited one last year at the end of the season. All I got was some not-so-good end-of-the-season corn. Today, though, I was seeking two specific things: farm fresh eggs and local honey. I got both at one stop...eggs only a couple hours old and honey from hives right there on the property. ("They" say consuming local honey can help if you have allergies; we'll see if "they" are correct.)


I also had other things to do like teach the kids school, sign Michael up for swim team, and find some new running shoes for me that will hopefully help my painful ankles. As expensive as they are, they ought to enable me to comfortably run a marathon.

All this to say, today was more of a prep day than a day to focus on making elaborate new and healthy snacks for the kids. I did, however, have some yummy banana bread on hand that I had made the day before Irene visited so we would have a ready-made breakfast.

In college I had this yellow cookbook that, though lost, I can still picture in my mind. I also still use some of the recipes from it, like the banana bread recipe. Here it is:

Sift together:
1 3/4 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

In separate bowl, eat until frothy:
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs

Add:
1 c. mashed banana

Add wet ingredients to dry and fold. Bake at 325 for about an hour.

I used freshly milled flour in this - hard white wheat. I only use my hard red wheat in bread as it does definitely have a stronger whole wheat taste. Honestly, you really can't taste that much of a difference between the processed white flour you'd find in the store and freshly milled hard white wheat, but the health benefits for the freshly milled flour are plentiful! Don't be fooled by "whole wheat" flour in the store either; it is still processed in order to allow for a long shelf life. I will tell you more about fresh milled wheat later this week when I make bread.

Anyway...for the sugar, I used the last of my honey granules; thankfully, I have my new bucket arriving sometime this week from Bread Beckers. I didn't quite have enough bananas to make a cup, so I filled the rest of the cup with organic plain yogurt, which I actually think made the bread more fluffy; I may make yogurt a regular add-in!

I meant to add some ground flaxseed because, honestly, that can be added to ANYTHING, and it's so healthful! But I forgot. I also often add chocolate chips and/or finely ground nuts of some kind (the kids don't like big pieces of nuts in bread or cookies).

So that was their snack today - whole, real food, just leftover whole, real food! Tomorrow hopefully there will be less running around so I can get more creative.