Yogurt-y Goodness

There are a few foods that I put up on a pedestal and sacrifice hours of my life to preparing on a mostly weekly basis in enough quantity for my entire family to eat a serving (or two) on a daily basis. Yogurt is one of those foods.

Yogurt 
makes 4-5 quarts

High quality milk means high quality yogurt.

Ingredients:
1 gallon of milk
1/2 or 1 cup fresh yogurt

 Also necessary:
Crock pot
Food thermometer
Five quart size containers with lids.
A few cozy blankets



method: Pour the milk into your crock pot. Place the lid on fully and crank the heat up to HIGH.

waiting...

Wait a little while. Maybe a few hours. (Every crock pot is different. I

180 degrees

suggest getting to know your machine. For instance, my crock pot and I are intimate enough to know this takes approximately 90-120 minutes... depending on the weather.) What you are waiting for is for the heat to get up to 180 degrees.

...all tucked in for the night!

Then turn down the heat, leave the lid off and unplug the crock pot. Wait a little while. Maybe a few hours... (again, timing varies with different crock pots and different weather) What you are waiting for is for the heat to get down to between 100 and 110 degrees. When the temperature is right, add your yogurt culture and whisk it well to disperse

into the containers...

it evenly. cover with the lid. Then comes the really cute part... tuck your yogurt in for a nap under those cozy blankets for 8-12 hours or so... I like mine a little strong so I let it rest for 13-14 hours. Then you are ready to observe the magic. Remove your blankets and uncover your crock pot to find your own homemade yogurt! Dish this out into your containers and keep refrigerated. I'm not sure how long it's good for... ours doesn't stick around for more than two weeks ever. Cause we eat it up!
 

homemade yogurt!

Crock Pot Beef Stew

I made this recipe up on the fly this past weekend. I just happened to have some of the main ingredients ready in the freezer... and the rest on hand so it was a quick meal to throw in the crock pot early on... allowing me to have fun the rest of the day! Lets hear it for easy weekend meals! This stew is not quite as tasty and fancy as John's favorite, Irish Beef Stew. But it gets the job done and it's quite nice on a cold day.

Crock pot beef stew

Crock Pot Beef Stew

4 cups beef stock (homemade bone broth)
1 lb beef stew cubes
7 carrots peeled and sliced in 1/4" rounds
6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/4"x1/2" cubes
Tbsp molasses
Tbsp Thyme
dash of red wine vinegar
salt
black pepper

Sear the beef in a skillet for about 2 minutes. Add to the crock pot. Save the juices and add a few tbsp olive oil... saute the carrots and potatoes for 5-10 minutes to burn off the starches and get them cooking. Then just throw everything in the crock pot and set it on high for 5-6 hours.