Homemade Yogurt

This recipe is based off one I found here:
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2009/11/for-the-love-of-the-slow-cooker-week-yogurt/

Steven actually made this last time and it turned out beautifully! I am not a big fan of yogurt (although it has many beneficial things about it), but it was smooth (previously it had been on the lumpy side). Steven says he has just been adding a bit of sugar and thinks it tastes great!

What did we do? Well, we can think of a couple things.

1. Temperature (during the 8-hour period): I have been a WHIMP with the cold weather lately, so our house has been closer to 70 than 65 and we haven't been turning it down as much.
2. Time: We left it in for 16 hours instead of 8.
3. Stir: Steven didn't whisk so hard
4. Starter: We used Tilamook yogurt as a starter instead of Albertsons or Dannon. Do they have a superior bacteria? (doubt it...but)
5. Amount of Starter: Steven didn't quite measure it (rats....) but he knows he put more than 1/2 cup... He thinks possibly a full cup?

Here's my new recipe for it:
1/2 gallon Whole Milk (we use generic)
3/4 cup yogurt (active live cultures are a must..high fat content would be nice but we can never find it and possibly try Tilamook if generics or Dannon aren't working)
STERILE slow cooker, utensils (whisk, spoon, measuring cup)


Pour 1/2 gallon into the slow cooker. Turn to
LOW and let it sit for2 1/2 hours. After the time has passed, turn off and unplug from wall. Let it sit for 3 hours. Whisk in yogurt SLOWLY and GENTLY. Re-cover and wrap in heavy blanket or towel. Let sit for 8-longer. We like how ours turned out and we think it's because we left it for 16 hours. Up to you. We also place ours in front of our heater-our house has a draft.

To make more use yogurt from previous batch. If after a couple uses the yogurt becomes runny, buy new yogurt to start again. Yogurt will last about 2 weeks after the milk expiration date.

Just thought I'd through out some new knowledge we had. :)

Five Tips on Food Budgets

$$$$ **I had this post originally on my personal blog, but I thought it was well-suited for this blog.
Of course I don't know everything and this might not fit with your style (diet or lifestyle), but I thought I'd share.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/food-stamp-challenge/

Our food budget is significantly lower than most others. I have heard of lower, but I always worry about nutrition. I mean, I'm all for saving money, but I don't want to go malnourished because I am not getting the variety of food every person needs. I was just reevaluating where we are spending our money because we went over last month. See, in December we didn't spend a lot because we were trying to empty out the fridge before we left on vacation, so our fridge and other perishable staples (bread, tortillas, etc.) desperately needed to be restocked. I could justify it by saying we didn't spend near our budget in December and slide the overage backwards, but I would really like to compensate for it this month; therefore, I was reevaluating. I have learned some new things since I last changed our cooking routine.

#1 Beans are a great source of protein if combined with grain. Beans and rice can get old, so we supplement our protein intake with chicken and beef (pricey!). I just found this website and look forward to incorporating more beans in our diet to lessen meat costs.

#2 Dry milk is GREAT for substituting real milk in recipes. Can't taste a difference! What a GREAT way to save money. Dry milk is like fractions of a penny compared to using the real stuff. We will still buy milk to drink and use on cereal, but as far as bread, cookies (in need to be double checked), and other baked/cooked goods dry milk is our new way to go. *NOTE Don't give a toddler/baby under 2 dry milk in place of whole milk. They need the fat.

#3 If you use a recipe a lot, then take the time to break it down! Find out how much to use for just 2 people (or however many are in your family) instead of cooking it for an army and letting your fridge have the rest of it before the garbage (aka it gets moldy waiting to be eaten).

#4 If you use it a lot, prorate what it costs! This can open your eyes so much! You can set your food budget for the month, divide it by people and then days/weeks (however you'd like).You can try sticking to this budget for dinners every night or do what we do. Because we  do eat beans and rice (Which honestly, is not as bad as most people think. I enjoy it.), we can go more expensive on other meals.

#5 Find out how to buy things cheaper. We decided a while back to add more veggies and fruits in our diet and found Bountiful Baskets. We decided to buy every other week, so that's about $30/month. As you can see here, you get A LOT. We figured it's about 1/2 as much as going to the store. Go to the cannery or a local butcher. Sounds gross (to a city girl, like me) but the bank account and your tummy will thank you.

I don't consider these tips, but life styles
#1 be brave! Try new things, i.e.  reconstituted foods, new recipes, new stores, new ways. It's a way of life and it might actually pay off! $$$$
#2 Make from scratch as often as time allows. Feel like your not a great cook? Practice just like you would an instrument or game. Don't tackle something huge first, you will feel more successful if you start small. Make cookies from scratch and share with a neighbor if they turn out. If all else fails, research about your climate, altitude, and how to cook! :)

P.S. Just a funny. While writing this, I found this website. I entered in number of house members, age, gender, and how many meals eaten away from home. My answer? $103/week. We spend less than this a month.

Inivitations

I have a meal management midterm coming up, so I thought I would share the invitations I made. If you live in Idaho, go to Artco. They are amazing! They have some amazing stuff and they are so cheap! I got a bunch of paper, ribbon (pre-cut), and some tags (which will be shown later) for $6.  These are the invites:

The Supplies:

 Take paper and slice them up in fun shapes like a tapered rectangle.

 Tape on the card

 Tape them to the card alternating the colors. Tape the printed info on it.

My envelopes didn't have the stuff to lick to make it stick, so I tied some ribbon around it.

Easy. Cheap. And if I say so myself, cute!

Apology

I would like to apologize for not really keeping up with this blog lately. I have decided that I will still do some cakes here and there (like for my meal management midterm maybe), but this blog I think would serve better purposes if I focus on the video I posted previously. I have decided that cake decorating will be fun. I just don't have time to fully submerge myself in it.

On that note, I have a proposal for this blog. It will be used to show all of you everything I create--from meals to happy memories.  I will explain how and maybe give you some inspiration to go out there and create something yourself. Also, I will be sharing knowledge and tips that I learn from school and life--which I hope will in turn generate some new ideas for you!

Also, I would like to add that a lot of these posts may be related to classes. I will probably post pictures of sewing projects, midterms, finals, and other projects that arise. I am studying to become a family and consumer sciences teacher, and honestly I feel it is a major of creating. I would not consider myself an expert in any field, but that's why I'm hoping this blog helps everybody out there.

You don't have to be an expert to