With prices of produce and other purchased goods from the store I thought it was time to start finding cheaper substitutions to things I like to eat. That being said, yogurt is one of my favorite things to eat in the morning on my way out the door. It’s portable, just the right amount and always creamy. Blue Yonder has a yummy home made yogurt recipe that she thought up for her kiddos. She wanted something that was quick, but a healthy alternative to high fructose corn syrup. The great thing is not only is homemade yogurt cheaper, but it is made by YOU meaning you have the control of what goes into your product and will feel better about feeding it to families.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 4 tablespoon store-bought, plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures
• 1-2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk
• 3-3/4 cup warm tap water

Directions:

In a large saucepan combine the tap water and dry milk powder. Stir it very well, and let it sit a few minutes. Then stir it again. All of the dry milk should be dissolved. Heat the milk over medium low heat until it reaches 180°. This kills off any competeing bacteria so that the yogurt will respond better to the acidophilus cultures. Remove from the stove and allow to cool to 115°. If the milk is any hotter than this then it will kill off the yogurt cultures. Add the store-bought plain yogurt to the warm milk. Stir well. Allow it sit for a few minutes and stir a final time. This should dissolve the store-bought yogurt completely.

Turn your oven off.

Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean canning jars and put screw on the tops. Put all the jars in a shallow pan, and place in the oven over night (or 6-8 hours). The next morning, pop them in the fridge until chilled, and then you can doctor them as you wish. We add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of vanilla to each jar.

Ours was a little soupy – the texture of “real” whole yogurt. In other words, not as thick as Yoplait or Dannon or store brands, more along the lines of Stonyfield Farm yogurt.

Ideas for storage:

Mason jars, Ice cube trays, Tupperware, Leftover plastic containers ( such as cottage cheese, butter, etc.)