Homemade Yogurt

Someday I might get a yogurt machine, but I've been doing it in the oven with great success, so maybe not. Here's my recipe:

1 C dry milk
4 C water
1 yogurt start

Your yogurt start is either a store bought start, or 2-4 T active yogurt. I buy a quart container of plain yogurt and freeze it in 2 T dollops. Makes about 25 starts.

Combine dry milk and water in a saucepan. Stir and slowly heat to 180F. Pull off heat and cool to 110-120F. Preheat oven to the lowest setting. Stir in yogurt start until dissolved and place mixture in a clean dish. Turn off the oven, and turn on the inside light. Place the dish in the oven and let it incubate for 6-8 hrs or until doesn't slosh around when jiggled (I do about 6 ½ for a mild flavor). Oven should hold at around 120-110F if the light is on. Keep the oven closed to retain heat.

Chill for several hours.

Eat plain, with fruit chunks and/or granola. To flavor, add blueberry or strawberry syrup. For a simple flavor add ¼ to 1 t sugar and ¼ t jello mix to every cup of yogurt. I've also used crystal light drink mix plus sugar to the rave of all.

Strawberry Syrup:
1 T cornstarch
¼ C sugar
½ C water
¾ C mashed strawberries

Blueberry Syrup:
1 t cornstarch
2 T sugar
1 C blueberries
¼ C water

Mix sugar and cornstarch and add to fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil until desired consistency.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

• I adore this cake in the fall! it is a Fantastic twist on pumpkin pie. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, but I like it with more, so i double it. A quick tip about buttermilk, if you only have sweet milk, put a splash of vinegar in to curdle the milk. I never buy buttermilk.

  Ingredients

  • CAKE:
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 
  GLAZE:
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, lightly coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with flour. Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels. Let stand about 10 minutes. Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl.

Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

Simple Sausage Pasta Toss

This recipe is easily halved for a nice 2 person meal.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked multigrain spaghetti
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 pound Italian turkey sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast bread crumbs in oil over medium heat; remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes and olives. Cook and stir until heated through. Drain pasta; add to skillet. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Yield: 5 servings.

Scalloped Potatoes

I got this recipe from my Danish friend. It is pretty healthy on it's own, but I modified it a bit by taking out the sour cream and replacing it with yogurt. It is still creamy and delicious with much less fat. I also put on garlic salt in place of regular salt for flavor. The paprika is just for color, so if you want to omit it, you can. I also omit the butter topping, but it does add more flavor.

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs potatoes

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 cup chicken broth

garlic salt

paprika

2 tbsp butter

Directions:

Slice the potatoes in thin slices.

Mix the yogurt and broth in a bowl.

Spray 13x9" pan with cooking spray. Layer half the potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt and paprika to taste. Top with half of the yogurt mixture. Layer on the rest of the potatoes. Sprinkle again with garlic salt and paprika. Pour on remaining yogurt mixture. Place dabs of butter on top.

Cover with tinfoil. Bake for 30 minutes at 400. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until done.

Really yummy, not so healthy, Corn Bread

This recipe is from my aunt Leah. It's really more of a corn cake, but is soooo good.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup corn meal

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake in a greased 9x9 pan for 30-40 minutes, or 8x8 pan for 55-50 minutes. Bake until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean.

Corn Chili

Marc and I make this all the time. We made it the other day to warm us up in the changing season. Marc likes to make this in the morning then throw it in the slow cooker. Omit the beef for a vegetarian option. Serve with corn bread. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 tsp dried oregano

1 lb frozen corn kernels

2 (14.5 oz) cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained

2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

2 tbsp tomato paste

Directions:

In a large pot, cook beef and onion in oil over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Stir in cayenne and oregano and cook 1 minute more. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook, uncovered, until heated through and slightly thickened, 10-15 minutes.