Yogurt

Well I did it. I made my family yogurt.  I had been searching through tons of recipes on the net, trying to find one that wasn't too labor intensive. I found one that worked perfectly for me,  it that uses the crockpot! It was so easy.

• 8 cups of whole milk
• 2.5 hours on low in the crockpot
• Unplug and let rest for 3 hours
• Take 2 cups of the milk, mix with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, return and mix with rest of milk
• Cover crockpot with heavy towel and let rest 8-12 hours. 

I started my yogurt last night and I woke up to creamy yogurt that has a great flavor.  I soaked up some of the liquid on top by placing a paper towel on top of the yogurt and then a kitchen towel on top of that.  I may try using cheesecloth and letting it drain that way next time to give it more of the Greek yogurt texture.  I don't have a problem using whole fat milk for my yogurt, but may eventually try using skim milk just to see how it turns out.  For now the whole fat yogurt will be the way we go, it's better for Tanner. 

Though I found ways to flavor the yogurt with fruit or vanilla, I like plain yogurt.  Tanner and I love to mix homemade granola into it, YUM!  Honey is also delicious on plain yogurt.