Homemade Yogurt

Most everyone knows I’m not really what one would call a morning person.  But you wouldn’t have known that this morning — especially since I popped out of bed, scampered into the kitchen and let out a big squeal.   I had decided to try a little kitchen science experiment overnight and really didn’t think it would work – but it did.  I made yogurt!  How cool is that?! And, it was so easy! 

So how’d I do it?  Well, first I bought a half gallon of milk and some plain low-fat Nancy’s yogurt. I normally buy two of those big yogurt containers a week since both Jason and I eat some for breakfast. 

Next, I poured the whole gallon of milk into a big pot and heated it slowly on the stove until it came to a rolling boil.  It took about 15 minutes, and once it started to boil, I immediately turned the heat off.  Oh, and it’s probably worth noting that you can use any kind of milk you want, just not skim milk. I guess it doesn’t work so well, but 1%, 2%, and whole will all work from what I’ve read.

Next, I scooped out 3 heaping tablespoons of the yogurt into a bowl.

Then, I waited until the milk cooled down a bit.  I’d read to wait until I could stick my finger in the milk and count to 10.  Once the milk had cooled down, then I took about half a cup of it and mixed it with the yogurt in the bowl and then dumped that into the larger pot of warm milk and whisked it all together.

Next, I poured the whole thing into a covered glass dish and wrapped it in two dish towels and put it into the oven with only the oven light on (not the oven, just the oven light) and left it in there overnight.

The tricks to avoid mishap from what I read were to make sure you let your milk cool enough before you put the yogurt in because if the milk is too hot, it will kill the bacteria.  Also, keeping the concoction warm while it does its thing overnight is important so the bacteria will grow. 

So…. this morning when I went to check on it, I seriously couldn’t believe it. It was just like the yogurt from the grocery store — so smooth and yummy.  And it saved me at least $3 bucks (Jason will like that!).    The large Nancy’s yogurt is $5.49 a tub  vs. the $2.49 for the half gallon of milk. And the best thing is that now that I’ve made yogurt, I can just use a little bit of it to make the next batch. 

So we of course had to have some for breakfast!  First I just stirred in my homemade berry mix-in.

And then added some homemade granola for Jason. Yum!

Homemade Berry Mix-in
2 bags of frozen mixed berries
1 cup of orange juice
1.5 tablespoons of corn starch
.5 cup of sugar (optional)

In a pot, whisk together the orange juice and corn starch until well mixed together.  Then add frozen berries and sugar and cook over medium high heat for 30 minutes – stirring occasionally.  With a potato masher, mash the berry mixture in the pot and continue cooking on low for about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and store in a container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Homemade Granola
Part I
6 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups nuts (I used a mixture of chopped pecans and sliced almonds)
1 pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of nutmeg

Part II
1 cup canola oil
.5 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
.5 cup honey

Part III
2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups shredded coconut

First, combine all the ingredients in Part I in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, combine ingredients in Part II.  Heat the Part II bowl in the microwave for 1 minute or until all the butter is melted.   Pour the liquid mixture over the Part I bowl and toss to fully mix.

Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven and cook for about 35 minutes — stirring frequently.  When it’s nice and golden brown, take it out of the oven and let cool.  When it’s cooled, put into a large bowl and add in the Part III ingredients and mix together.  I store mine in a big glass container with a scoop and it lasts for a few weeks. Yum!