It's been a year now since I started making Greek Yogurt.  In the beginning I made it with non-fat milk, several months passed and it wasn't working any longer.  I made it exactly the same way, but always ended up with just sour milk.  So I got discouraged and quit.  Then last fall I read an article about how your digital thermometers have to be recalibrated on a regular basis, and the light dawned.  My temperature was off, that's why it wasn't working!  

So I pitched the digital thermometer, went back to using a regular meat/utility thermometer and I was back in business.  And then I decided to try eating low-carb for the umpteenth time and read that I could eat whole milk yogurt.  I started making it, and oh my, it's absolutely decadent, wickedly delicious, there is no comparison between non-fat yogurt and whole milk yogurt.  It has 20+ grams of protein per cup and approximately 220 calories, but I never eat a cup, a half of a cup is sufficient.  I eat it with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries.  I mix a tablespoon of peanut butter in it, sometimes I use maple extract, sometimes lemon, but I always use a lot of Splenda.  It isn't that sour to begin with, not like Fage or Chobani Greek Yogurt you buy in the store, but it's so good sweetened, it's almost like ice cream.

I make it and give it away, and always get great feedback.  I make it every couple of days, a half gallon of milk makes a quart of yogurt.  I bit the bullet and invested in equipment, a YoGourmet Yogurt Incubator and that pricey Mafter Boullion Strainer, and it was worth every penny.  I've already paid back my investment many times over, since I get a gallon of milk for $1.79 at Aldi's, and a gallon makes two quarts of yogurt.  I know I'm repeating some of this information, but I've had so many people ask about this and some things are worth repeating.

I've read extensively about yogurt making, you don't have to buy any equipment.  Some people incubate theirs on a heating pad, I used to put mine in the oven with the light on, another way of incubating is to wrap it in a towel and put it in an insulated cooler along with a bowl of hot water.  There is a ton of information about yogurt making if you just Google it.  

When I tell people what I do to make it, the standard response is "that's too much trouble."  But once you do it a few times it's a no brainer and doesn't take that much effort.  I know exactly how long it takes to get to temperature in my microwave, I know that it takes 20-30 minutes for the temperature to fall to 100-110 degrees in an ice water bath, then I just put it in the YoGourmet, and in 6-8 hours I have yogurt.  

I always refrigerate mine for a few hours or overnight before I strain it, it just works better to refrigerate it first.  Then whisk, jar it and enjoy.

Okay, that's my last yogurt post for now, but I did want to update you one more time.  I'm going to give you some links to my original entry, but do yourself a favor and watch Paula's video.  I consider myself a serious yogurt maker these days, but Paula is the guru.  And yes, I know I've already put her video on here, but it's worth watching again.

I've tried several different recipes, including adding dry milk.  Yuck!  Paula's recipe is best by far, trust me on this one.

Now go buy a gallon of whole milk, and make some yogurt, it's good for your bones and it's good for your gut and it tastes like no yogurt you've ever eaten.  And don't try and calculate calories from the milk jug, it doesn't work that way, because you drain off the whey which has carbs and calories in it.  And yes, I pour the whey on my houseplants and they love it.  And I'll quit posting about this for awhile, pinky swear I will.  Well, until I make frozen yogurt, but that's a whole other ballgame.  ;o)

~ Happy Yogurting - Jan

Click thru the following links for more information...

My original yogurt post from last year

Mafter 17360 Exoglass Boullion Strainer

YoGourmet Electric Yogurt Maker 

And one more viewing of Paula's Video, it's worth watching again...

 

 

These pancakes were absolutely WONDERFUL!  I found this on ibreatheimhungry.com, and I ate them so fast I didn't take time to snap a picture, so I snagged the picture from her site, but I'm linking directly for the recipe.  Not right if I just take their recipe and post this as my own.

This is a low carb recipe, but it would be yummy regardless of what diet or non-diet you are using.  The only thing I altered was I used 1 egg and 1 egg white instead of 2 eggs to cut the calories a bit.  They taste more like a cream cheese crepe than a pancake, but oh my, they're wonderful.  

Just had to share….

Now hop over to www.ibreatheimhungry.com and check out all of her recipes.  I'll be trying more, if the rest are half as good as my breakfast was, I'll be such a fan of this site.

When I saw these on Pioneer Woman's hit Food Network show, I just had to share the link.  The women is phenomenal, and her recipes are amazing!

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Photo obtained from Pioneer Woman's Website

Now, I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  They've always been my favorite, and I've tried many recipes over the years, searching for the "perfect" cookie.  Is this it?  Well, maybe it's not perfect, but it's pretty darned close, these are the best I've ever made.  I've had the recipe for Auntie Em's Oatmeal Cookies on Jan CAN cook for a couple of years, but I never had wheat germ to make them, and I was a little skeptical, after all, wheat germ is "healthy." ;o)

So yesterday, hubby was at the store, and I had him pick me up a package of wheat germ, and I made a batch of these cookies.  I made them exactly like the recipe said, with cinnamon and golden raisins, and scooping out 1/4 cup measured amounts on my Silopat Baking Sheet.  I only put six on a sheet as they spread, you will want to leave quite a bit of room between cookies.   I took them out of the oven, they looked good, they tasted great, but cold oatmeal cookies are the true test.  I don't like them hard and flat, I want them to be chewy, yet crisp, and these were all of the above.  They aren't puffy and cake like, they are a crisp oatmeal cookie around the edge with a perfect chewy center.

So, if you're an afficiado like moi when it comes to oatmeal cookies, don't take my word for it, buy yourself some wheat germ and golden raisins and bake them for yourself.

The only thing I did differently was bake them for 18 minutes, 14 minutes wasn't enough in my oven.  It makes  a huge amount, my dough is in the fridge, waiting to bake when we want them, I'll probably put some on a cookie sheet pop them in the freezer to firm and then bag them in the freezer for later use.

Four stars on this one, ladies.  Here's the quick link.

This salad is so good,  very lemony, and garlicky, it is just superb.  I found it years ago on a now defunct site, Gail's Recipe Swap.  Gail's had so many wonderful people that posted daily, chefs, gourmet cooks, everybody shared their favorite recipes.   It was sponsored by Epicurious and it was a sad day when they closed it.

This Salad is from Gail's Swap, it's so good, another keeper recipe...

Andrea's Garlic Salad

DRESSING
Mix together and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving:
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
3-5 cloves of garlic crushed
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

SALAD
1 head of Romaine
1/2-1 lb. of bacon, cooked crisp and diced
2/3 cup of toasted almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup julienned Swiss cheese
2 cups of sliced plum tomatoes, or cherry
tomatoes quartered
1 cup of croutons

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup drained, canned crushed pineapple in juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Garnishes: sliced bananas, chopped fresh pineapple

Preparation

Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk and next 5 ingredients in another bowl. Gradually stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in toasted pecans. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot buttered griddle or large nonstick skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry and cooked. Turn and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until done. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and keep warm in a 200° oven up to 30 minutes.

Serve with Cream Cheese Anglaise

Note: When using a griddle, heat it to 350°.

Tip: For tender pancakes, don't overmix the batter; it should be lumpy.

Cream Cheese Anglaise

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups half-and-half
 1/2 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Process half-and-half, cream cheese, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a blender until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and vanilla. Serve immediately

Source:  Southern Living