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  • Make Yogurt, on a Heating Pad!

    Back in my more active homemaker days, maybe 2009-ish, I got the idea to try homemade yogurt. I thought it would be a big ordeal, but I must admit this was easy enough to do while caring for a needy infant, plus I know my yogurt is free of sugar, thickeners, and artificial additives.

    Equipment:

    • large stock pot
    • stainless steel bowl
    • glass jars with lids
    • heating pad
    • high temp food thermometer

    Make it:

    • Fill the stock pot 2/3 with water.
    • Place the bowl in the pot and fill it with the milk (amount and type are your choice).
    • Heat until it reaches 180. (This will kill any bad bacteria that would otherwise interfere with the yogurt.)
    • Remove from heat and let the milk cool to 115.
    • When it reaches between 110 and 115, add 2-4T of plain yogurt (no fruit or sweetener). Stir and let sit about 5 minutes.
    • Stir again and pour into clean glass jars. Screw on the lids and place on your heating pad.
    • Set the heating pad on LOW and cover with the empty stock pot.
    • Let this sit undisturbed for 4-10 hours. (The longer it sits, the more tart it becomes, so if 4 hours looks good,
    • place your jars in the fridge to cool. I like mine at about 7 hours. After 10 hours, the quality begins to deteriorate, so stop yours before then.)

    Your yogurt will have more liquid (whey) than store-bought since it doesn’t have additives…you can drain this off or stir it in, it does not affect taste! We’ve used the liquid in pancakes or bread.

    You can top this with fruit and granola, or you can use this as a substitute for oil in baked goods, or you can even drain this and use as cream cheese in cheesecake!

    I use part of my cooled yogurt to make starters for my next batch. Just pour some yogurt into an ice cube tray and freeze. When frozen, pop into plastic bags.  Next time you want homemade yogurt, thaw out 2 or 3 yogurt cubes to stir in instead of heading to the store for a container.

  • Peanut Butter Granola

    I used to make this amazing peanut butter granola!  I came across the recipe and I could almost taste it…The granola may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or it can be refrigerated or frozen for up to 1 month.  But I promise, if you like peanut butter, this won’t last a week.  It tastes like pb cookies, shhhh!

    Makes about 6 cups (12 servings)
    Ingredients:

    • 4 tablespoons olive oil or butter, melted
    • 1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
    • 1/2 cup honey
    • 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
    2. Combine the oil, peanut butter and honey in a microwave-safe medium bowl.
    3. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute, then stir.
    4. Heat another 30-60 seconds and stir again.
    5. Add the brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt, stirring until smooth, then add the oats and mix until they are evenly coated.
    6. Spread the mixture evenly on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes (just until browned and crisp).
    7. Stir and put back in the over for a couple minutes if you need to brown a bit longer.
    8. Let cool on the baking sheet, then break up into bite-size pieces. Enjoy!granola