Vanilla Yogurt

4 cups milk (your choice whole-skim)
1/2 cup powdered dry milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 -6 tablespoons sugar (Splenda or honey) = 1/2 cup
1/2 cup yogurt starter (unflavored plain yogurt with active cultures)
Directions:

1
Set 1/2 yogurt starter out to warm to room temperature.
2
Heat the milk to almost a boil.(I like to microwave in a glass bowl for 5 minutes on high then 2 minutes on medium). About 180 degrees. Cool the milk-about 110 degrees- (to a “barely warm”/ babies bath temperature) (cool water bath works well). Add dry milk, vanilla and sweetener of your choice; stir well.
3
Stir in yogurt starter (do not whip but mix very well!).
4
“Cook” the yogurt using your preferred method and time (longer makes a firmer, more tart yogurt. I like to cook about 12 hours). Chill 4 hours before eating.

March 18, 2013 0

Happy Monday!

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day so far. We have worked on half school today as we are going to get haircuts this afternoon. I found this new recipe for bread and so I am taking this loaf to Mrs. Faye as a thank you for cutting our hair. We also plan on sharing these cinnamon buns with her.

I got this recipe from http://redfarmhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=one+rise+bread.

I also wanted to share another new recipe I am trying. I got it from here http://belovedsbride.blogspot.com/ I had a beef roast to put in the crockpot this morning. Amazing how things work out that way. It sure does smell good cooking.

Another new thing I did last month was bake our bacon in the oven. Jess does this all the time so I thought I would give it a try. We buy our bacon at Sam’s in a 3 lb package. Last month, I baked the entire package at one time. Instructions are here: http://blog.makezine.com/craft/kitchen_101_cooking_bacon_in_t/ I then froze the precooked bacon. Wow, I’m thinking, why hadn’t I thought of this before. Now all I have to do is get out the amount of bacon needed for breakfast, heat it up in a skillet or microwave and ta-da bacon is ready. I am impressed with how fast it is and how crispy the bacon is. Of course, the instructions on the post said to throw away the bacon grease that accumulates in the pan. I’m sure that ain’t right! I would never throw away good bacon grease. Mine is in a jar in the fridge and has already been used several times. Once, for some refried beans I made the other day that was delicious.

Well, that’s about it. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

February 4, 2013 7

Homemade Yogurt

For a quart of yogurt, you need:
1 quart of milk
1/2 cup dry milk powder (not absolutely necessary but makes it thicker)
1/4 – 1/2 cup yogurt starter (plain – not vanilla – yogurt) room temperature

To Make:
Mix the milk and dry milk powder well. Heat in microwave to 180 degrees. Cool down to 115 degrees. To cool faster put pot in a pan of cold water. When cool, add a yogurt starter to a small amount of milk. Add all milk and whisk well. Pour milk into a yogurt maker and incubate for 6 to 8 hours. Refrigerate. Serve!

I got this recipe from http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-it-yourself-yogurt.html

August 1, 2012 0

Fantasy Fudge

I got this recipe years ago from the back of a marshmellow creme container. I have used it since for making fudge. It is easy and delicious.

Fantasy Fudge in the microwave

3/4 cup butter, 3 cups sugar, 5 oz. evaporated milk, 1 12 oz package chocolate chips (2 cups), 1 7 oz jar marshmellow cream, 1 tsp. van.

Microwave butter in 4 qt glass bowl on high 1 min. Add sugar and evaporated milk. Mix well. Microwave on high 3 min. Stir. Microwave on high 2 min. Stir. Microwave on high 3 min. Stir. Microwave on high 2 min. Stir. Remove from microwave, add chocolate chips. Stir until chips are melted. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares. Makes approx. 3 lb.

I use this same recipe for peanut butter fudge, vanilla, and butterscotch. Just substitute the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips or whatever type you are using. When making chocolate fudge, we prefer milk chocolate chips.

December 8, 2011 0

Applesauce

The girls and I finished the apples yesterday. You can check out our logs at the right to see our total. I really like cooking the apples in the microwave. So much easier. It makes the applesauce thicker too. When I cook them on the stove, I have to add a little water to keep them from sticking, so it makes the applesauce a little thinner. Today we will be canning a bushel of green beans. Also working on cleaning the house as tomorrow is bible study day.

Beautiful weather here in Floyd this week. When we got up this morning about 6:00, the temperature was 59 degrees. This makes it so much more comfortable for sleeping. I would guess yesterdays high was in the low 80’s. Very nice. Days like we have been having remind me why I like living in Floyd and especially here on the farm. God was very good to bring us to this place. Thank you Lord.

The birds are singing such beautiful praises this morning. I think I’ll join them in their worship. Breakfast outside sounds wonderful. Enjoy your day and God bless.

July 15, 2010 1

Comparison

I thought it would be nice to look back and remember how things were just a few short months ago. This picture was taken this morning. Then I looked back and found another picture of the same scene.

Personally I like this morning’s picture better but to each his own. Yesterday was busy for us. The girls and I went to pick apples. A friend from church offered us his early apples from his tree. We were very thankful to get them. After we came home, we started processing them. Yesterday we got 11 quarts of applesauce made and still have more to work with today. Sally, our pastors wife, told us she puts her apples in the microwave to cook them. This was much easier as we didn’t have to worry about them burning. Then she puts hers through her food strainer and puts them in the freezer. I had never put applesauce in the freezer, only apples. We tried that yesterday. It was a lot faster and didn’t heat up the house.

Beautiful weather here in Floyd this week. Much cooler temperatures with a wonderful breeze. We have had several little rains which we really needed. I picked green beans Monday and dug some young potatoes. They were delicious. I think I’ll be able to pick some more beans by tomorrow. YUM! I love fresh produce.

Did you all notice my canning and freezing logs Dave put on my blog? Thanks Dave. I really like being able to look at it and see what I’ve got done and what I still need. I better get working on those apples. Enjoy your day and God bless.

July 14, 2010 1