Whole Milk Yogurt

So when I was in labor one of the things I had on hand to eat was whole milk yogurt, which is only available at one grocery store that I know of, way on the west side of town, and costs over $1.50 for a 6oz carton! Yeah, needless to say, we only bought a couple to have on hand while I was in labor. They were so yummy! I love yogurt, but love it even more when it's whole milk. Most store bought yogurt is fat free or low fat, so skim milk. I was at a local thrift store about 3 weeks ago and stumbled upon a yogurt maker for $3. After debating with myself for 5-10 minutes about weather or not I should spend the money on it, I decided heck just go for it. So I walked out with my $3 yogurt maker. I was unable to open it before purchasing it, but thankfully I found once home that it worked and only lacked one jar. After doing a little research I discovered that I just happened to buy a yogurt maker (Salton brand) that fits half pint jars perfectly, so no need to buy a replacement jar. Yay! Then the experimenting began, I made several batches of yogurt, one as runny as water, another as solid as concrete. *smile*  Finally after lots of research and lots of failed batches of yogurt I have a perfect recipe. It's creamy and semi firm. Keep in mind it's just plain yogurt. It will be tart, if you want it flavored add fruit or jam.

4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup powdered whole milk (helps make it creamier)
1 teaspoon knox gelatin (helps make it more firm)

Mix together and heat to 180 degrees, turn off heat and let it drop to 110 degrees, add 1 Tablespoon of starter (plain yogurt, just buy it from the store the first time, after that you can use what you make). Pour into yogurt jars and place in yogurt maker and let it set over night. In the morning put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before disturbing it. Then enjoy the smoothest creamiest yogurt ever.

yummy yogurt!

Shanda

Liquid Laundry Soap

 


















Laundry soap is expensive to buy, but beyond cheap to make :) I have been making my own laundry soap for a long time. Here is my recipe. A batch lasts me about 6 months, but I also do a load of cloth diapers every other day.

Liquid Laundry Soap

1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Borax
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (I sometimes use homemade bar soap that I make just for this, not the same stuff I use in the shower though)

grate the bar of soap and put it in a pan with about 4 cups of water, put in over medium heat and dissolve the soap. Put this with the washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. Fill within a couple inches of the top with hot tap water. Stir until it's all dissovled. Place lid on bucket and let it sit overnight. It will gel up over night. They say to stir it with a spoon and break it up some, put some of it in a container (old laundry detergent bottles work) with half water and shake it every time before adding about 1/2 cup to every load of laundry.

Here is what I do after it gels up over night- put a stick blender (the same one I use to make bar soap) in it and turn it on high until it's nice and smooth. It's actually about the consistency of store bought laundry detergent at this point. Then since I have a super fancy washer that adds its own water*wink* I just add 1/4 of a cup of my detergent, throw the clothes in and close the lid. Simple as that. Mine stays in the 5 gallon bucket and just sits right by my washer, you however can do it however you like. A whole 5 gallon bucket of this stuff only costs me about $1.50. If that doesn't make you want to try it, there are also way fewer chemicals in it that store bought stuff.

Shanda