Yogurt-Making Tutorial

Here is the process I use to make my own yogurt. You might need to tweak these instructions to tailor them to your situation and taste.

Make sure all tools you use are VERY clean. Getting any bad bacteria into your yogurt will ruin it.

You will need:
-thermometer
-large sauce pan
-whisk
-jars or plastic containers
-milk
-plain yogurt (to use as a starter)
-powdered milk and/or gelatin (optional)
-insulated cooler
-towels

I use powdered milk and gelatin in my recipe because I like the consistency better that way. It makes a firmer yogurt. It’s not a necessary ingredient but the result will be a softer yogurt.

STEP 1: Heat milk (and whisked-in powdered milk & gelatin) to 145° - 160°F.

STEP 2: Remove from heat and cool milk to about 125-130°F. If the milk is too hot you will kill the starter when you add it. If it's too cool you won't activate the cultures.

STEP 3: Inoculate with starter yogurt. (Plain, no sugar added, with LIVE cultures) Whisk starter yogurt into the milk and then pour into your containers.

STEP 4: Incubate @ about 130° for 4-6 hours. I do this by filling an insulated cooler with very hot water and letting it heat while I get the milk mixture ready. Then I pour out the water, put in my filled jars and refill with fresh, hot water up to the neck of the jars.





STEP 4 (continued): Wrap the cooler in towels or blankets to help hold in the heat and let it sit for 4-6 hours. Yogurt likes to be VERY STILL while it's culturing so be careful not to jostle it.

STEP 5: Remove jars from the cooler and refrigerate. The yogurt will firm up more after refrigeration.

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Ingredients for each quart of yogurt:

4 cups milk
2 Tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon gelatin
2 Tablespoon plain yogurt

Here is a link to a printable copy of my basic recipe: www.cindee.net/Yogurt.pdf

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

We made 'em too

Now Rebecca and I have joined the fun and made Funnel Cakes too. Thanks to KimC at Life in a Shoe for the recipe and tips and to Donna at Handsful for reminding me that I wanted to make them. It was easy, fun, and delicious!

Menu Plan Monday - May 21, 2007

Updated to add picture (5-22-07)

Monday- Take-out Chinese
Tuesday- Chicken Salad & Breadsticks
Wednesday- Soft Tacos, Chips & Salsa
Thursday- Chicken & Rice Bake, Salad
Friday- Baked Fish, Rice Pilaf, Salad

Chicken Salad Recipe:
This isn't as much a recipe as it is a list of what I put in my salad. Amounts are totally to taste!

Lettuce (I use romaine salad mix) ~ Cubed: cucumber, celery, chedder cheese, tomato ~ Frozen peas, rinsed and drained ~ Cooked chicken

I cut up chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, season it with paprika (I use a lot of paprika, it gives it great color as well as taste!), granulated onion, granulated garlic, pepper, salt, dill weed

Serve immediately with Italian dressing & breadsticks.

Abby, my little helper... :-) Actually Micah was my helper tonight. He chopped up cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, and cheese. He had a ball and asked if there was a meal he could make all by himself and that he wanted to be a chef when he grows up. I guess I should have had him in the kitchen with me a long time ago!!

Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu plans.

Marie Callendar's Famous Golden Cornbread

I can't remember where I found this copycat recipe but it was online somewhere...

1-1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1-1/4 cup milk
1 egg

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add milk and egg. Mix. Gradually add in the dry ingredients. Pour batter into a greased 8x8-inch pan. Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes or until top is turning golden brown. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Honey Butter:
Whip 1/2 c. softened butter and 1/3 c. honey together until smooth and fluffy.

Porcupine Meatballs - easy

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup instant rice
small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tsp. granulated garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Form into 1-inch balls. Place in a casserole or baking dish. Cover with sauce.

Sauce:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet gravy mix (mushroom, onion, or brown)
1-1/2 cups water

Mix and pour over meatballs. Cover dish and bake at 350* for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15 minutes more.

Serves about 4.

NOTE: I usually have these meatballs pre-made and in the freezer (I freeze them on a cookie sheet and transfer them to a zip bag). I dump the frozen meatballs into a baking dish, add the sauce and cook as usual. I may add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.

Good Morning!

I made some Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins this morning. Grab a muffin and some hot chocolate and enjoy!



Recipe:

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. orange juice

1-1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil

1-1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven 400*. Combine oats and orange juice. Set aside. Combine the flour, soda, sugar, egg, baking powder, salt, and oil. Mix well. Add oats mixture. Mix well. Stir in blueberries. Pour (drop) into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Top with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12. Enjoy!

Kabob Recipe

As requested, here is the recipe. I don’t measure much but this is approximately what I did:

Beef and chicken cut into about 1-inch cubes
Refrigerate it over night in a ziplock bag containing:

1 – 18 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce
the juice of one lemon (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
½ cup of virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. parsley flakes
salt & pepper (I didn’t measure)

Next day:
Cut up veggies. I used:

1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
a few mushrooms
a few cherry tomatoes

Layer the meat and veggies onto SOAKED skewers. (I only soaked mine the 20 minutes it said on the package. Next time I’ll do it AT LEAST one hour. The exposed ends scorched badly!) I did beef kabobs and chicken kabobs. Both with veggies. I only put on one tomato per skewer and I didn’t always use a tomato since the kids don’t like ‘em. Next time I’ll use more than one onion. One wasn’t enough for me!!

Place kabobs on a well-heated grill over medium to medium high heat. You’ll have to figure this out a bit on your own since grill vary quite a lot! Cook for about 10 minutes or so before trying to turn the kabobs. If the chicken sticks it’s probably not ready to turn. Use the leftover marinade from the bag to baste over the kabobs while they are cooking. Be sure to COOK COMPLETELY after the last time you brush it because you have raw chicken juices (UGH!!) in that marinade. Don’t give it a final brush and then immediately remove it from the grill!!!!!

Just watch it and turn them every once in a while to cook evenly on all sides. I took a hunk of chicken off a skewer and cut into it to test for doneness. I didn’t know how else to know. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to cook. The prep work takes longer than the actual cooking time.

The beef turned out a little tough. I don’t know the best cut of meat to use for this purpose and I probably didn’t choose well. (I used top round steak) The chicken breast was wonderful and I prefer chicken anyway!!

There was probably a shorter way of saying all this but I’m not known for being pithy!! J

Let me know if you try this and how it turned out!!

Pumpkin Bars

Shelia's post about her pumpkin muffins made me hungry for my pumpkin bars. My kids and I made some for a church meeting the other night and now I share them with you...
Pumpkin Bars
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cloves
4 beaten eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup cooking oil

Combine dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Spread batter into and ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Frost with ½ recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting when cool. Cut into bars. Makes 48.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. package of cream cheese
½ cup softened butter
2 tsp. vanilla
4 ½ to 4¾ cups powdered sugar

In a bowl beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in enough of the remaining powdered sugar to make frosting of spreading consistency. Frosts top and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

ENJOY!!