Yummy and Fun Recipes!

Jenni’s Homemade Yogurt
Makes 4 cups
1 qt whole milk
1/3 cup nonfat powdered dry milk
2 tbsp starter yogurt
1/4 c. heavy cream (optional)

Mix the whole milk with the powdered milk and cream (the cream adds a bit of silkiness to the texture.) Pour into a saucepan, and heat until bubbles form around the edge (180 degrees). Cool to 110 degrees. Pour into a 1 qt container (I use old yogurt containers that have been washed thoroughly), and set in a thermos or cooler and surround with hot water. I’ve used a cooler and filled old glass jars with hot water, or a thermos that’s large enough to hold the container of yogurt plus some hot water on the bottom. It should just be hot water, not boiling. Cover the thermos/cooler, and let incubate for 5-6 hours (some recipes call for longer, but we’ve found that it gets too tart that way).

You can also use a yogurt incubator, which usually sells for between $25-50, but I’ve been pretty happy with the results we’ve found using coolers.
Additional notes: I use a candy thermometer to gauge the heat of the milk. You can try to do it by finger tests, but it’s easier for me with a thermometer. You can usually find one in the wilson's department at Micheals, so use your 40% off coupon!

Starter yogurt is simply plain yogurt with live active cultures. You can check the label on the container to see if it contains live cultures. You can use starter from the yogurt that you make, but after a few batches, you usually need to use some fresh starter. A tip I picked up on the internet is to get a big container of plain yogurt and freeze it in ice cube trays (an ice cube is just about 2 Tbsp). When you need fresh starter, just pull one of the cubes out of the freezer and let it thaw to room temperature.

We like this recipe for homemade granola, and it’s so simple! It’s easy to make on a cool fall morning when you want to fill the kitchen with smells of vanilla and cinnamon. Add things like ground flaxseed, wheat bran, etc. to it for even more of a nutritional boost. I can’t remember where I found the recipe, but this link has the closest version.

Homemade Granola
Makes 6 cups
4 c. oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts (pick your favorite)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine brown sugar, oats, oil, honey, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil or until sugar has dissolved.
2. In a large bowl, combine nuts and oats. Pour melted honey mixture over the oats and stir to combine.
3. Spread granola mixture out on a large jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with sides. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
4. Let cool, and then break into clumps and store.