Yogurt

This isn't exactly a recipe, but I have to share. I've been making our own yogurt and we love it. It's probably not for everyone, but I thought I'd share in case someone wants to try. It's so easy really. And, it's way cheaper than buying yogurt. I love yogurt and I remember telling Dave once that when we're rich, I want to have yogurt all the time. Well, we must be rich now because we have yogurt all the time. All I do is heat 1/2 a gallon of milk to about 180 degrees (you'll need a thermometer) stirring the whole time so it doesn't burn. Then let it sit uncovered on the counter until it gets down to about 110 degrees. Set your oven to the lowest temperature you have to warm it up. Then stir in about 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt (buy some at the store the first time and then every time after that just use your already homemade stuff) to your milk. Turn your oven off, but turn the light of your oven on. This lets off just enough to heat to keep your milk mixture at about 110 degrees. Cover your soon to be yogurt and let it sit in that oven for 8-10 hours. The longer it sits, the thicker it will be but the tangier it will be. (Sometimes I just mix it up before bed and just let it sit there all night long.) Then put it in containers and put it in the fridge. I have never gotten mine to be super thick, but it still tastes great. I've read you can add powdered milk to your milk to make it thicker and give it more protein. I haven't tried it. If you do, let me know if it works. You can also strain it through a cheesecloth to make Greek yogurt, but I haven't done that either. So, to eat it, I have to add quite a bit of sugar to make it delicious (I think brown sugar is the best). We also add fruit if we want, or sprinkle granola on top, or add lemon juice and sugar to make lemon yogurt, or add jam, or put it in smoothies, or cook with it, or whatever you want. My boys love it and gobble it up. In fact Jasher doesn't even like to stir in his sugar anymore. He just lets it sit on top. But, one time another little boy was over and we had some yogurt so I gave him some. He took one bite, made a bit of a disgusted face and said, "We have better yogurt at my house." So, I guess it does take some getting used to...