Homemade Yogurt

After one month of reading recipes and mentally preparing myself, I decided to make homemade yogurt with live cultures. It was so simple! It is so tasty! Not to mention, it is so much less expensive than constantly buying it from the store. My guys love yogurt.

Yogurt:

2 quarts whole milk
8 oz whole fat yogurt for starter (I used Fage - I learned that one must read the ingredients label to determine whether the yogurt is whole fat or light)

Cook 2 quarts of yogurt on high in you crock pot for two hours. The milk will almost be boiling. Remove crock from element base and set aside on a hot pad on the counter. Set the lid so steam can release and the milk can cool to 115 degrees F. Stir to help it cool. When the milk has cooled to 115 degrees F, add in the whole fat yogurt and mix well. Replace the lid and wrap in a bath towel to maintain the heat. Place crock in the oven to help maintain the heat (you may also use the microwave). Allow to rest for at least 12 hours. YOGURT!

A few notes:

I allowed our yogurt to rest for 12 hours, but I am going to try 14 next time. The longer you let it rest, the tangier the yogurt will be.

The yogurt will come out runny. What you may do if you do not like this consistency is strain it. I put a cheap Gerber flat diaper (we use them to dry our dishes - not to catch human waste) and lined a colander with it. I poured the yogurt in the lined colander, set the colander in a round cake pan and placed it all in the refrigerator. You can squeeze it to make it strain faster, but yogurt comes through rather than just the whey. I allowed it to strain for about 4 1/2 hours and gained a better consistency. I think I'll strain it longer next time; maybe 6 hours. You may strain with cheese cloth or any other towel you see fit for straining.

Add in whatever you like in your yogurt or eat it plain. I added honey to ours this time.

Homemade Granola Bars

I made homemade granola bars last week. They're phenomenal! I very loosely followed this recipe. I'll share mine with a warning label: they had a laxative effect on our 15 month-old son after eating just one.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats (the store didn't have rolled or I'd have used those)
3/4 cups packed light brown sugar (you can use dark also)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flour (use whole wheat if you want, doesn't matter)
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup 60% Cacao chocolate chips (I used Ghiradeli - use chopped or not, however you like)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil (can use butter or applesauce as well)
2 tsp Vanilla (I forgot and they still tasted wonderful)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients is large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well. Place parchment paper in a 9 x 13" baking pan. Place ingredients on the parchment, pressing firmly into the pan. Once you have the unbaked granola in the pan evenly and firmly, place in oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The edges will be golden brown when done. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes and remove granola using the parchment to allow the granola to cool apart from the pan. When cool, place back in baking pan and cut into bars. Enjoy!

I'd only eat one per day. Michael ate two and was just fine. Our boys ages 6 and 5 ate just one per day and were fine. Our 15 month-old can't eat a whole one or has diarrhea all day.