Daily Archives: June 30, 2009

Homemade Yogurt

My most exciting find at this summer’s garage sales was a Salton Yogurt Maker.

I had one years ago, but over time had broken some of the glass containers. I’ve tried other ways to make yogurt – but none were as successful and drop dead simple as the Salton.

My recipe comes from the tried and true More-With-Less Cookbook . I just reduced it down to fit in my Salton.

Salton Yugurt MakerHomemade Yogurt

Combine in measuring cup:

1 cup powdered milk
2 cups warm water

Mix thoroughly and add:

5 ounces of evaporated milk or scalded whole milk.

Remove a small amount of this mixture and put in a small container. Add to this 3-4 ounces of vanilla yogurt made with active cultures. (The active cultures are very important! It should say so right on the label.)

Blend till smooth and add to the remaining milk. Mix well. It’s very important to get the starter mixed well into the base!

Pour into the yogurt maker and let incubate overnight.

The beauty of a yogurt maker is the consistent low heat (about 110 – 120 degrees).

To serve, you can simply add a little vanilla, or some fresh fruit, or maybe a little flavored jello. I’ve even added a small amount of sweetened kool-aid mix – which gave it a lovely color and a fruity flavor.

I love how easy and economical homemade yogurt is – my kids just think it tastes great!

Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

Chocolate ICe Cream LogAngel girl shares a June birthday with one of her friends. So when our families enjoyed a meal together this weekend – I knew a special dessert was in order.

Since we were enduring some intense heat and I didn’t really want to turn the oven on – I decided that an ice cream cake would be perfect!

I found a yummy recipe for a peanut butter ice cream cake – but Angel Girl is not on the peanut butter kick that her older sister is – so I made some chocolate alterations.

The final result -

Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

Crust :

2 cups oreo cookie crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

Filling:

6 cups of vanilla ice cream (divided)
4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch x 5 inch 3 inch bread pan with aluminum foil.

Mix together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted margarine. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared bread pan.  Freeze for 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining crumbs.

Spread half of the ice cream over the crust and freeze for one hour or until firm.

Put the chocolate chips and milk in a microwave proof container and microwave until melted, stirring till smooth. Cool.

Beat cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Add the melted chocolate chips and mix well. Stir in the Cool Whip.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the vanilla ice cream layer and freeze for one hour or until set.

Carefully spread the remaining ice cream over the cream cheese layer and freeze for one hour.

Press the reserved cookie crumbs on top of the ice cream and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze at least one hour before serving.

To serve, use the foil to carefully remove the ice cream cake from the pan. Slice with a serrated knife.

What a cool and yummy treat to celebrate the birthdays of two special 11 year old girls!