Greek Yogurt Made on a Dime!

I fell in love with Greek Yogurt recently and at a $1.25 a pop for a 5.5 oz container it was a treat item for my family and I instead of an necesity.  Now yogurt plays a healthy and important roll in a diet so I was thrilled to find a cheap alternative to purchasing those little pots of gold!

This recipe comes from http://www.saladinajar.com/ (this is a great website for ideas and frugal living)


Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon of milk ( can be fat free to whole milk depending on your likes can also be organic)
1 small container of purchased PLAIN yogurt  ( I used Oikos Greek)
Large Saucepan
Cheesecloth or Coffee Filters
Accurate Thermomater
Fine Mesh Strainer


Instructions:
Place all milk in to saucpan.  Scoop out 2 teaspoons of milk and place in bowl, reserve for later.
Heat milk to 180 Degrees  stiring every few minutes so that a skin does not form on top.
Once at 180 Degrees, remove from heat, and set aside to cool. 
Cool milk to 110-115 degrees. (takes about 30-40 min)
           * Must be under 120 and above 109 for starter to work
When cooled mix 2 teaspoons of the plain yogurt with the reserved milk.
Whisk this mixture into the milk.
Pre-heat oven for exactly 1 Min. then turn off oven.
Turn on oven light *this is a must-do not miss this step*
Cover bowl then wrap in a bath towel, set into middle rack in oven and leave undisturbed for 12-14 hours.

( I usually make this after dinner dishes are done and leave over night)

After 12 hours have gone by you can check on your yogurt.  When you open it will be liquid on top and have a slightly sour aroma and look slightly geletinous on the bottom. 
Run a spoon into it and if it is not thick enough place back into oven for a couple more hours.
IF it is thick enough, then get your strainer ready!

Position a bowl or picher under your stainer, line strainer with cheese cloth or coffee filters.
Very carefully spoon yogurt into the strainer.
Put all yogurt and liquid in the strainer and let sit for about 30 min.

Empty strainer carefully into a bowl or kitchenaid bowl.
Carefully remove 2 teaspoons of yogurt into a sealable container (this becomes your starter for the next batch)

Now comes the fun part!
I use my kitchenaid with the whip attachment to do this:  add 1/2 c. sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whip for about 30 seconds.

Transfer into quart GLASS canning jar and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours.
The longer the yogurt sets in the fridge the thicker it will be.

You can mix anything into your yogurt mixture for example:
Honey
Strawberries with juice
Agave
raw sugar
brown sugar
fresh fruit
ranch dressing
or anything else you can think of.

Yogurt will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks but usually will be eaten well before that!

COST:
$1.25 for Oikos yogurt at Walmart
$2.08 for 1/2 gal of 2% milk at Walmart
total : $3.33 for 1 quart of  Greek yogurt with no additives or perservatives
2nd batch costs only $2.08 for 1 quart of Greek yogurt