Homemade yogurt!!!!

Yes I made it..... and it worked :p

This was one of those things that I wanted to try just to say that I did it! now that I have tried it .... not sure I can go back to the old store bought stuff... it's just too good!

I used this recipe http://everydayfoodstorage.net/food-storage-yogurt-with-powdered-milk There is a free printable hand-out that is awesome!

I just happen to have a mother, (yes i know shocking) that has a goat that she is milking so I used goats milk for the initial 2 quarts (8cups) of milk but I did add the powdered milk and continued the recipe from there like it is on the website.

I did exactly like the recipe until it came time to add the culture and let sit... I was worried about keeping my yogurt at the right temp. so I tweeked (thats what I do best) from there.

After I put the culture in I bottled it in the  half pint bottles that I wanted to use... I didn't wait for it to set up first. ( I got 10 and 1/2 half pints)

I then used a cooler ( a small one with no spout at the bottom) I put the bottles (lids very tight) in the cooler then added 113 degree water (I checked it with a thermomiter) just to the bottom of the rims...
added the thermomiter probe and let it be. the cooler took some of the heat out of the water so the end temp was 111 :)

It's important to leave the yogurt alone while it's setting up... it needs to be "quiet"

Mine was finished in about 3 hours. Hot water was added once because the temp. got below 110

The closer the water temp can get and stay toward the 110 mark the milder the end flavor.... the closer to 115 the sharper the flavor.

DON'T LET IT GET OVER 115 DEGREES

Also a thermomiter with the long cord so you can put the probe in the oven and keep the rest of the unit out... is your best friend!

I hope I got everything in that you needed to know
feel free to contact me with questions :)

@;--

Odds and ends tips

Keep checking back because I'll keep adding to this

@;-- Buy Hamburger in "bulk"
    try to find packages that are either 3bs or 4 lbs maybe a little over but close enough to devide fairly evenly. Now here comes the crazy part... if you plan to use it in recipes where it needs to just be browned hamburger (tacos, hamburger helper, ect.), brown the whole thing at once.... then devide it into what would be one pound amounts... remeber they aren't going to be one pound each. so if the original amount was 3 lbs then devide the cooked hamburger into 3 equal parts. Lable and freeze. when you want to use it it only needs thawed out enough to get out of the container and in the pan... when making tacos I put the seasoning in while it's still frozen in the middle... it makes it alot easier to work with :)
@;-- If your going to use hamburger for other things where it needs to be raw when you start.... still buy in bulk but devide, shape (for something like hamburgers), then freeze... it just makes things easier when you get ready to cook.

The easiest way to melt butter or margarine
put in a jar...like a canning jar (pint) cover with a paper towel and secure with a rubber band then microwave as normal.  The paper towel keeps splatters down and the rubber band wont react in the microwave but keeps the napkin from falling off.

Super Yummy pancakes

I found this recipe on Everyday Food Storage. The cool thing about it is you can make it one batch at a time or make it into a "mix" 4 batches at a time :)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2012/03/13/best-ever-homemade-pancake-mix/food-storage-recipes