Easy Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

 

What you will need:

• 1/2 gallon of whole milk (do not use Ultra pasteurized)
• Thermometer
• 3-6 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons Vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup yogurt with live active cultures OR yogurt starter package
• 5 pint sized mason jars
• lids & rings for the mason jars
• Crock pot



1. Heat the milk to 185 degrees.

2. Remove the milk from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla.

3. Cool the milk mixture to 115 degrees.  This can take a little time, to speed things up you can do a rapid cool by setting the stockpot of milk in the sink with cool water.  To do this you have to stir it constantly and monitor the temperature.

4. Have 1/2 cup of yogurt starter a larger measuring cup so that you can add a little milk mixture to it and stir it before adding to the stockpot.

5. Add milk/yogurt mixture to the stockpot, STIR GENTLY.

6. Pour the milk mixture into pint canning jars.

 

7. Wipe the rims of the canning jars to make sure they are clean and dry.
8. Finger tighten the lids on the jars.

 

9. Place the jars in your crockpot with hot water.
10. Adjust the temperature of the water until it reads 115 degrees on the thermometer.

*** This is where I watch the temperature of the water bath with the thermometer for three hours.  It stays pretty consistent, but it pays to check on it.

11. Let it culture for 3-4 hours, the consistency is set, but loose at this point.  The longer a yogurt cultures the more tang it has, and the thicker it will become.  3-4 hours makes a sweeter yogurt which our family likes.

12. Remove jars from crockpot and refrigerate immediately. Refrigerate until cold.  Don't be tempted to eat it until its cold, this sets the yogurt.

****For flavored yogurt: Mix in your favorite jams or fruits when you get ready to eat it.
There are a lot of expensive yogurt makers out there, I'm pretty cheap and decided to make my crockpot work for me.

****The yogurt will be good for one week. After that feed it to the chickens, or compost it!

My sweet Mama Brahma laid the most amazing egg last Saturday!  It sent my girls into peals of laughter and made grown women groan.  This egg is so large that she didn't lay any eggs for several days.  Luckily she is okay.  I someone suggest that maybe we got two eggs for the price of one because there might be another chicken inside of her... Unlikely, but is would explain why she eats so much.  You can always find Mama head down eating something good.  Often she gets separated from the flock and starts the funniest little cry that you have ever heard.  The rooster, Sparky, actually listens for her and comes running to her aid to bring her back to the flock. 

The egg was 5.5 ounces total.  The egg inside was the size of a large egg at 2 ounces. OUCH!





The almost there dining room

It is getting there.  I need pictures, paint the molding, curtains and to finish the chair rail.

The dining room before picture

My boring dining room before.  Not a really great photo, but you get the idea.

The dining light

I hated my old dining room light.  We bought a classic brass light and spray painted it with Oil rubbed bronze paint and have it as a great addition to the dining room.  Things are taking shape!

Love my rooster!!

The painted hutch...

Two coats of primer, one coat of Sherwin Williams Alabaster All purpose gloss paint, embossed wallpaper on the original back and Martha Steward copper antique glazing.  Then we sprayed the original pulls/hardware with Oil rubbed bronze spray paint and I highlight glazed them with the glazing compound.  SO HAPPY with the new hutch!

The Hutch... Primer and stain

My husband sanded the top of the base, we stained it to match the table (MiniWax Walnut and Tung Oil).  These pictures show the first coat of primer.