Jennifer at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam asked an interesting question awhile ago: When did you learn to cook? I enjoyed reading her answer here, and the comments are not to be missed!
For me, I don't really even remember a specific "learning to cook" time. My mother made dinner for us almost every night, and she taught my sister and I as she made our meals. We were mixing up doughs, making soups, peeling potatoes, and helping with main dishes as long as I can remember. It just was part of helping mom.
I had a cookbook for kids that I got from the book orders at school that I remember loving. My mom let me try any recipe I wanted out of that little book. She'd help me, but generally left me to do it on my own, supervising when cutting or hot things were involved.
I never remember my mother saying that a particular dish would be hard to make. She just did it. When something went wrong, it was okay. Next time would be better, and we learned something from that attempt. This attitude helped me not be afraid of any particular dish later in my life.
The fact my mother made so many things at home also helped me avoid processed foods when I left home and had to feed myself. I did not even KNOW that one could buy ready made meatloaf, biscuit mixes, instant mashed potatoes, boxed pancakes, frozen cakes, etc until I started to notice these items on the shelf at the grocery store. They were never in our house. My mother did not have high regard for these products, as there was nothing to making up a batch of biscuits, or mixing up a meatloaf, mashing some potatoes, or popping popcorn on the stove.
I had a small kitchen in my dorm my second and third year of college, and I amazed my roommate by making such basic things as popcorn on the stove and pizza crust from a jiffy crust mix. (We did not have much storage, and the dorm had mice, so I did not like to keep flour around.) She told me that she had literally never cooked anything that did not come out of a can or box, and had not even know that popcorn could be made without a microwave. She said that she figured cooking was hard, which is why there were so many premade, microwaveable meals on the market.
When I married, I put my cooking knowledge to good use. We had very little money our first few years of marriage, and I'm sure my skills helped us save a significant amount. I knew how to prepare dried beans, which made excellent, cheap, vegetarian chili. I was not afraid to try new things. I knew inexpensive substitutions, and I knew what could be cut down on or left out of a recipe. I knew how to cook without a recipe, much to the chagrin of my husband, who knew that "Hmmm, a pinch of this, and a handful of cheese, and I threw in that leftover beef..." was not going to help the person who wanted the recipe!
That's not to say I'm a perfect cook. I've had my share of disasters. I once made a broccoli beef dish that ended up tasting and smelling so bad we threw it out. When I was 13, I had an angel food cake overflow in the oven, and the memory of cleaning that mess up still makes me cringe. I've had cakes fall, forgotten to take out the S blade in my food processor in an attempt to save time slicking leeks (that became "leek chutney" for our meat!), and have had made up this and that dishes turn out blah. This is okay though- it's part of cooking!
Failure of a dish is nothing to be afraid of. At worst, it has to be thrown out. At best, it's a hit and everyone wants to know how to make it. A friend of mine had a had a homemade pita bread disaster right before she was supposed to take it to a party. Did she panic? Not at all. It turned out that everybody LOVED her hummus and "Turkish Dipping Nubs."
Sauces and creative names cover a multitude of sins!
Showing posts with label homemade foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homemade foods. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, October 30, 2009
Free Stuff and Candy Bacon!
Go here to get free Nescafe Single Serve Instant Coffee packs.
When they come in the mail, use one of them to make this remarkably delicious bacon. I used walnuts instead of pecans.
When they come in the mail, use one of them to make this remarkably delicious bacon. I used walnuts instead of pecans.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Slow Food Verdict
It was worth every minute of the four hours spent cooking it. Every. Single. Minute. Delicious! We ate every drop.
That said, I don't think this will be a dish I make often!
That said, I don't think this will be a dish I make often!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Slow Food
My husband and I enjoyed a rare treat yesterday...a movie at the full price theater!
*pauses for all the shocked gasps*
Usually we consider full price theaters an extravagance, as we live just down the road from a discount theater. We usually wait until the movies we really want to see on the big screen to come there.
I could not stand to wait to see Julie and Julia. I've been eagerly anticipating this movie ever since I saw the first preview, and I was not disappointed. My only wish was that they had spent more time on Julia Child, who I find a fascinating figure!
In honor of the film and of the guests we're having tonight, I decided to attempt to make Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguiganon.
The first thing I did was gasp at how many pots, pans, and spoons it seemed I'd be using, so I filled my sink with super hot, soapy water.
It did not see terribly difficult when I saw the recipe, just a bit labor intensive. The ingredients are relatively simple:
Without the fancy title, it's just beef stew with wine.
I also used my food scale. 6 oz of bacon turned out to be four slices from the box of "Irregular bacon" I buy once a year for 10 bucks.
Julia wants us to simmer the bacon. Alrighty then!
After you boil it, you saute it...in oil. Clearly not a low fat dish, which usually means YUM.
Here's some of the beef, lovingly dried with paper towels. I've never heard of drying off meat until the movie/reading this recipe.
Then you brown the beef in bacon fat.
Both sides get browned...smells delicious.
Here's the onions and carrots awaiting their bath in bacon and beef fat.
It smelled amazing.
You remove the carrots and onions, pour off any bacon fat left (there was not much in mine, so I wiped it out with a paper towel) and coat the meat in flour. After that, you put it in the oven for a bit to make the meat crust. Mmmm....
This was the plate that held my beef and bacon. Ewww.
While my meat was in the oven (eight minutes total) here's photographic proof that I cleaned the kitchen up a bit. There was grease everywhere- I'm only halfway through the recipe, and I've gone through at least a 1/4 of a roll of paper towels.
After you do the meet crust, you add wine and beef broth. I ended up not needing the measuring cup- the whole bottle was 1/2 cup more than I needed, but I decided to improvise a bit. I bet Mrs. Child would forgive me.
Waiting to simmer, only to be covered and put into the oven for the next two hours. I thought about taking a nap, but first I needed to deal with the mushrooms and the cute (and pretty darn expensive) mini-onions.
I covered it and put it in my needs to be cleaned desperately oven.
I thought I could finally take a break, but no...I had to get the cute (but $$$) baby onions ready.
First you boil them to get the skins loosened.
Then you take the skin off.
Here they are browning. Smelled divine!
Next up: Mushrooms. This was the only picture I got of the mushrooms.
And...DONE!
*pauses for all the shocked gasps*
Usually we consider full price theaters an extravagance, as we live just down the road from a discount theater. We usually wait until the movies we really want to see on the big screen to come there.
I could not stand to wait to see Julie and Julia. I've been eagerly anticipating this movie ever since I saw the first preview, and I was not disappointed. My only wish was that they had spent more time on Julia Child, who I find a fascinating figure!
In honor of the film and of the guests we're having tonight, I decided to attempt to make Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguiganon.
The first thing I did was gasp at how many pots, pans, and spoons it seemed I'd be using, so I filled my sink with super hot, soapy water.
It did not see terribly difficult when I saw the recipe, just a bit labor intensive. The ingredients are relatively simple:
Without the fancy title, it's just beef stew with wine.
I also used my food scale. 6 oz of bacon turned out to be four slices from the box of "Irregular bacon" I buy once a year for 10 bucks.
Julia wants us to simmer the bacon. Alrighty then!
After you boil it, you saute it...in oil. Clearly not a low fat dish, which usually means YUM.
Here's some of the beef, lovingly dried with paper towels. I've never heard of drying off meat until the movie/reading this recipe.
Then you brown the beef in bacon fat.
Both sides get browned...smells delicious.
Here's the onions and carrots awaiting their bath in bacon and beef fat.
It smelled amazing.
You remove the carrots and onions, pour off any bacon fat left (there was not much in mine, so I wiped it out with a paper towel) and coat the meat in flour. After that, you put it in the oven for a bit to make the meat crust. Mmmm....
This was the plate that held my beef and bacon. Ewww.
While my meat was in the oven (eight minutes total) here's photographic proof that I cleaned the kitchen up a bit. There was grease everywhere- I'm only halfway through the recipe, and I've gone through at least a 1/4 of a roll of paper towels.
After you do the meet crust, you add wine and beef broth. I ended up not needing the measuring cup- the whole bottle was 1/2 cup more than I needed, but I decided to improvise a bit. I bet Mrs. Child would forgive me.
Waiting to simmer, only to be covered and put into the oven for the next two hours. I thought about taking a nap, but first I needed to deal with the mushrooms and the cute (and pretty darn expensive) mini-onions.
I covered it and put it in my needs to be cleaned desperately oven.
I thought I could finally take a break, but no...I had to get the cute (but $$$) baby onions ready.
First you boil them to get the skins loosened.
Then you take the skin off.
Here they are browning. Smelled divine!
Next up: Mushrooms. This was the only picture I got of the mushrooms.
And...DONE!We won't be eating it until our company gets here- I'll update you tomorrow on how it was. It took FOUR hours, but it *smells* worth it.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Daily Bread
I have become obsessed with the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. If you have not seen this book yet, get thee to your local library.
Today I made a loaf of Challah bread to go with the potato leek soup that's simmering in our crockpot.
I took a ball of the dough and divided it into three parts.
I also broke down and bought a silicon pad to bake on. (That's the blue thing you see in my pictures.) It was about $11 at my local Target. The dough is extremely sticky and you do need parchment paper or something to put it on. The one time cost of the silicon pad will pay for itself in no time at the rate I'm baking these days!
Today I made a loaf of Challah bread to go with the potato leek soup that's simmering in our crockpot.
I took a ball of the dough and divided it into three parts.
I then braided the parts. together and let the dough rest.
Just before I put it in the oven, I brushed some egg over it and sprinked on blue poppy seeds.
What a beautiful loaf of bread, with about 10 minutes of hands on time!
I'm not a novice baker, but I've tried several things using their method that I used to pass off as being too much trouble. I mixed up the fridge dough on Saturday and made beignets with part of it. They were delicious, and much easier to make than I expected. I still have some dough left for something else. 
Just before I put it in the oven, I brushed some egg over it and sprinked on blue poppy seeds.
What a beautiful loaf of bread, with about 10 minutes of hands on time!I also broke down and bought a silicon pad to bake on. (That's the blue thing you see in my pictures.) It was about $11 at my local Target. The dough is extremely sticky and you do need parchment paper or something to put it on. The one time cost of the silicon pad will pay for itself in no time at the rate I'm baking these days!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Frugal Thanksgiving Side Dish: Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce looks fancy, but it is so easy you won't believe that you've put up with canned stuff for all these years. It's not even necessarily more expensive as canned as long as you pay attention to the holiday sales!
I buy my cranberries when they fall to .99 cents. (Wichita area- check Aldi's- I saw them for .99 cents this week.) I usually buy several packs of them so I have some for Christmas as well. I simply pop the whole pack in the freezer as is, and I've never had one fail on me.
To make a very basic homemade cranberry sauce, you'll need the following:
1 big pan
2 packs of cranberries
2 cups of water
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar
You'll need to do the following:
1.Pour the cranberries in to a bowl or strainer and wash them. Pick through them and be sure to get out any less than fresh cranberries.
2. Put the water in the pan. I say two cups, but it should cover at least two inches of the bottom so the berries don't burn, so it may be a little different based on the size of pan you use. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Pour the cranberries into the boiling water. Cook over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until at least half the cranberries have popped open. You will hear them pop- don't be alarmed; the popping is normal.
4. Remove from heat and add sugar to taste while the sauce is still warm. Stir well. I usually end up using at least 1/2 a cup, but I like my sauce on the sweet side. You can serve the sauce warm or cold. I usually make this the day before, put it in a pretty serving bowl, and pop in the fridge to serve cold the next day.
That's all there is to it! Now wasn't that easy?
Head on over to Frugal Upstate for more great Thanksgiving side dish ideas!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Frugal Food Series: Eggs!
Frugal Upstate is doing a frugal food series! How fun! This week topic is eggs.
I love eggs. They are a cheap protein and you can do a remarkable amount of things to them. I often add chopped hardboiled eggs to salads, I've made egg salad sandwiches, and love hardboiled eggs for breakfast. When I go on an hardboiled egg kick, I usually boil up 6 or 12 at a time, put them back in the carton, and mark the hardboiled ones with an H in permanent marker on the top.
I also love to make spinach quiche with eggs. I've posted this recipe before, but it's always worth repeating! It's also an excellent way to use up leftover Easter or Christmas ham. They freeze well, and it is a reasonably forgiving recipe. I usually make several at once since they take so long to bake in the oven, but this egg loving recipe is well worth the oven time!
Popeye Pie
You'll Need
1 pie crust (I make one but I'm sure a store one would be good too.) I've also made it without the crust- just spray the pie pan really well!)
3 Tablespoons of Butter or margarine
1 8 oz can of mushroom bits, or a few chopped fresh mushrooms
chopped green pepper and onions to taste (I use 1 onion and 1/2 green pepper)
1/2 to 1 cup chopped ham
1 pkg. frozen spinach (thawed)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
What you Do
Saute the onions, ham, mushrooms, and green peppers in the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the grated mozzarella cheese, eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper. Add spinach and the sauteed mushroom/onion/ham mixture. Mix well. Pour into the pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees until a knife comes out clean- this will take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6.
Go here for more great egg recipes or to submit your own! Next week- Tuna!
I love eggs. They are a cheap protein and you can do a remarkable amount of things to them. I often add chopped hardboiled eggs to salads, I've made egg salad sandwiches, and love hardboiled eggs for breakfast. When I go on an hardboiled egg kick, I usually boil up 6 or 12 at a time, put them back in the carton, and mark the hardboiled ones with an H in permanent marker on the top.
I also love to make spinach quiche with eggs. I've posted this recipe before, but it's always worth repeating! It's also an excellent way to use up leftover Easter or Christmas ham. They freeze well, and it is a reasonably forgiving recipe. I usually make several at once since they take so long to bake in the oven, but this egg loving recipe is well worth the oven time!
Popeye Pie
You'll Need
1 pie crust (I make one but I'm sure a store one would be good too.) I've also made it without the crust- just spray the pie pan really well!)
3 Tablespoons of Butter or margarine
1 8 oz can of mushroom bits, or a few chopped fresh mushrooms
chopped green pepper and onions to taste (I use 1 onion and 1/2 green pepper)
1/2 to 1 cup chopped ham
1 pkg. frozen spinach (thawed)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
What you Do
Saute the onions, ham, mushrooms, and green peppers in the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the grated mozzarella cheese, eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper. Add spinach and the sauteed mushroom/onion/ham mixture. Mix well. Pour into the pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees until a knife comes out clean- this will take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6.
Go here for more great egg recipes or to submit your own! Next week- Tuna!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Time v. Money: Pie Edition
On Sunday we had company over and my husband requested a strawberry pie for dessert. No problem, right? I had not counted on having to buy two pounds of expensive strawberries (3.99 each) and the price increase in flour. (Anybody else noticing the rise?) But my husband wanted strawberry pie, and we're not destitute, so I happily made it. It probably cost about 10 dollars.
Today as I was going to work, I noticed that it is pie month at a local Village-Inn type restaurant. All their delicious pies could be had for $6.99 each. Do'h! This is one of those cases where just buying the dang thing ready made would have saved me both time and money! Of course, it would have been missing the secret ingredient- love- but I don't know if out guests would have noticed.
Has this ever happened to you?
Today as I was going to work, I noticed that it is pie month at a local Village-Inn type restaurant. All their delicious pies could be had for $6.99 each. Do'h! This is one of those cases where just buying the dang thing ready made would have saved me both time and money! Of course, it would have been missing the secret ingredient- love- but I don't know if out guests would have noticed.
Has this ever happened to you?
Monday, February 25, 2008
Avoid Fast Food Temptation: Do It The Night Before
When I come home from work, I am soooo tired that McDonald's or the KFC drive thru looks like a pretty tempting option. I cut out a lot of the temptation by doing stuff the night before. I do as much of the prep work as possible as I clean up the kitchen after dinner and pack lunches for the next day.
Tomorrow we're having chicken stir fry. I cut up zucchini, onions, orange peppers, and garlic. I also pulled out a chicken breast to thaw in the fridge. The most annoying part of it (for me, anyway- I hate chopping stuff!) is done and waiting in the fridge.
I go as far to measure out the rice so dinner is as lazy-proof as possible. I can't possibly say I'm too tired to dump some wild rice water into a rice cooker and add water can I? The rice is already measured! The rice cooker is right there! Even the drive thru at Burger King requires more steps- I have no excuse!
Stir fry takes very little time and tastes great. Doing the prep work the night before makes it even easier.
What are your favorite tips to fast food proof your dinner hour?
Tomorrow we're having chicken stir fry. I cut up zucchini, onions, orange peppers, and garlic. I also pulled out a chicken breast to thaw in the fridge. The most annoying part of it (for me, anyway- I hate chopping stuff!) is done and waiting in the fridge.
I go as far to measure out the rice so dinner is as lazy-proof as possible. I can't possibly say I'm too tired to dump some wild rice water into a rice cooker and add water can I? The rice is already measured! The rice cooker is right there! Even the drive thru at Burger King requires more steps- I have no excuse!
Stir fry takes very little time and tastes great. Doing the prep work the night before makes it even easier.
What are your favorite tips to fast food proof your dinner hour?
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Treasure Hunting...in your freezer
Ahhh...the joys of having a freezer. It's a great money saving tool to be able to buy up large quantities of bargain foods, near expiration foods, veggies that you froze because you just had to many to eat fresh...I love my freezer.
One of the tricks to cutting your grocery bill is actually *using* your freezer. By using it, I don't mean simply buying stuff at the lowest cost and putting it in the freezer, never to seen again. If it's anything like mine, it's stuffed to the brim. I'm not sure that I can fit one more thing in it, even with some juggling. I have a chest style freezer, and I'm not even completely sure what's at the bottom. It's a treasure chest of bargains- let's go hunting! I'm spending the next few weeks planning my menu out of the freezer.
What treasures will you uncover in your freezer and pantry?
One of the tricks to cutting your grocery bill is actually *using* your freezer. By using it, I don't mean simply buying stuff at the lowest cost and putting it in the freezer, never to seen again. If it's anything like mine, it's stuffed to the brim. I'm not sure that I can fit one more thing in it, even with some juggling. I have a chest style freezer, and I'm not even completely sure what's at the bottom. It's a treasure chest of bargains- let's go hunting! I'm spending the next few weeks planning my menu out of the freezer.
Here's a map of my menu for this week:
Sunday: Popeye Pie (using bargain spinach, the free ham I was given for Christmas at my workplace, organic eggs that I snagged on about to expire special, and organic cottage cheese I got for .25 cents about to expire and froze.)
Monday: Baked eggplant Parmesan (everything, from eggplant to cheese, is from my freezer. Well, everything except the eggs.)
Tuesday: Buffalo style chicken wings, sauteed zucchini with Parmesan and walnuts - all from my freezer, with the exception of Frank's Red Hot for the wing sauce.
Wednesday: chili (to utilize the tons and tons of tomatoes I bought up for next to nothing, then froze. Thanks for the tip, Crystal!)
Thursday: Marinated chicken breasts, green beans
Friday: Shrimp scampi, (made with buy one get one free shrimp and cheap cheap cheap butter from Target)
Sunday: Popeye Pie (using bargain spinach, the free ham I was given for Christmas at my workplace, organic eggs that I snagged on about to expire special, and organic cottage cheese I got for .25 cents about to expire and froze.)
Monday: Baked eggplant Parmesan (everything, from eggplant to cheese, is from my freezer. Well, everything except the eggs.)
Tuesday: Buffalo style chicken wings, sauteed zucchini with Parmesan and walnuts - all from my freezer, with the exception of Frank's Red Hot for the wing sauce.
Wednesday: chili (to utilize the tons and tons of tomatoes I bought up for next to nothing, then froze. Thanks for the tip, Crystal!)
Thursday: Marinated chicken breasts, green beans
Friday: Shrimp scampi, (made with buy one get one free shrimp and cheap cheap cheap butter from Target)
What treasures will you uncover in your freezer and pantry?
Monday, July 02, 2007
Failed Yogurt
Sometimes the yogurt just does not turn out how you want it. It's not thick enough, or it's too tart, or maybe it is the first time you made yogurt and...well, you just don't like it. Or maybe you LOVE it, but made so much that you will not be able to finish it before it goes bad. It happens. When this happens to me, I use it in place of milk in things like pancakes, breads, and mixes. It gives it a bit of a tart flavor, but it is still very good. I made a loaf of cheese bread using slightly runny yogurt in place of milk, and the result was a wonderful bread with a very, very slight sourdough taste. If you use sour milk in your pancakes, failed/abundant yogurt can make a wonderful substitute!
Flavor That Yogurt!
"Do you add anything after you make it to flavor it, like vanilla? I made yogurt a few times but couldn't come up with a flavor/texture combo I liked. Any suggestions?"
Thank you for your question, Maggie! There are several things we do to flavor the yogurt, including vanilla! Keep in mind that it will not be exactly like commercial yogurt, but most people will find a flavor and texture that they like with a little experimentation.
When we flavor our yogurt, we do not do the whole batch at once. We flavor it as we eat it. Here's some of the things we do-
- add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract (per about a cup of yogurt) and sugar to taste. I love vanilla yogurt. I would start with as little as possible and add more. Everybody has different tastes!
- Sugar and fruit. I love cut up strawberries or a handful of blueberries.
- Fruit, vanilla extract, sugar, and granola. Mix the yogurt with the vanilla and sugar. Layer yogurt, fruit, and granola in a pretty glass. I serve this for dessert or for breakfast a lot when I have a fresh batch of yogurt or have hit a great sale on commercial yogurt.
- take about a teaspoon of flavored jello (I like strawberry) and mix it in with about a cup of yogurt.
- Add a little bit of jam or jelly in a flavor you like.
- We use the plain yogurt in place of sour cream in casseroles, on tacos, in dips...anywhere sour cream is called for!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Yogurt Making
Yogurt making is something I got into during the dirt poor graduate school days. A friend had mentioned a few years before that she made her own, but I did not try it until my beloved commercial yogurt seemed too expensive to buy on our limited budget. (We eat A LOT of yogurt.) Yogurt is one of those things that is fairly simple to make, but people are really impressed when you whip out your homemade yogurt! It's also very good in place of sour cream, and good in casseroles.
Here's the recipe I use. There are several variation on the web and in other cookbooks, so if this one does not work for you, there are others you can try. Homemade yogurt is not as thick as commercial yogurt, but it's even more delicious!
Yogurt (makes 2 qts)
Combine in a large bowl:
3 c. milk powder
3 c. warm water
Stir well. Add:
1 can of evaporated milk OR 1 2/3 c scaled whole milk. (I just use skim, and it works. Your yogurt will be thicker the higher fat content of your milk, so mine is thinner than some homemade yogurts.)
Combine separately:
1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt (use yogurt with active cultures- it will say on the carton. After the first one you buy, you can use the homemade as starter if you eat it fairly regularly.)
1 c. milk from the bowl.
Blend until smooth and return to remaining milk. Mix well. Pour into clean glass jars and incubate at 110-120 degrees F until set. Refrigerate.
To incubate: Some people have yogurt makers, but they cost 30-50 dollars apiece, so this may or may not be a cost savings to you. I've been unsuccessfully watching for a yogurt maker at yard sales. Many people use their oven with just the oven light on. I have never had an oven with a light, so I use a cooler filled with hot water. I use a candy thermometer to check the temperature every hour or so, and add a little more hot water as I go along. To get the thickness I want, I usually leave it in 5-8 hours. It works out fine! We mix in jelly, jams, fruit, granola, or sugar to eat as yogurt, and use it to replace sour cream in other recipes.
Here's the recipe I use. There are several variation on the web and in other cookbooks, so if this one does not work for you, there are others you can try. Homemade yogurt is not as thick as commercial yogurt, but it's even more delicious!
Yogurt (makes 2 qts)
Combine in a large bowl:
3 c. milk powder
3 c. warm water
Stir well. Add:
1 can of evaporated milk OR 1 2/3 c scaled whole milk. (I just use skim, and it works. Your yogurt will be thicker the higher fat content of your milk, so mine is thinner than some homemade yogurts.)
Combine separately:
1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt (use yogurt with active cultures- it will say on the carton. After the first one you buy, you can use the homemade as starter if you eat it fairly regularly.)
1 c. milk from the bowl.
Blend until smooth and return to remaining milk. Mix well. Pour into clean glass jars and incubate at 110-120 degrees F until set. Refrigerate.
To incubate: Some people have yogurt makers, but they cost 30-50 dollars apiece, so this may or may not be a cost savings to you. I've been unsuccessfully watching for a yogurt maker at yard sales. Many people use their oven with just the oven light on. I have never had an oven with a light, so I use a cooler filled with hot water. I use a candy thermometer to check the temperature every hour or so, and add a little more hot water as I go along. To get the thickness I want, I usually leave it in 5-8 hours. It works out fine! We mix in jelly, jams, fruit, granola, or sugar to eat as yogurt, and use it to replace sour cream in other recipes.
My latest batch, incubating in the cooler. I close the lid and put a blanket over it, and have not lost a batch yet!
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