Feathers in Our Nest

a blog about faith, family, food, & more written by a wife and stay at home mom of five

First Food

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Cordelia recently started eating solid foods, and her first solid food experience was a hard boiled egg yolk (farm fresh)!

She wasn’t sure at first about the texture or the taste.

But after a while she got adjusted…

and enjoyed eating it!

Her ability to pick up small pieces of food is quite advanced.

 

Self-feeding is quite messy, but we feel like it’s worth it in the long run, as babies develop more independence in food selection and can better indicate when they are finished eating.

Cordelia has also tried avocado and banana (separately) on different days.

Homemade Greek Yogurt the Easy Way

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I used to be SUPER intimidated about making homemade yogurt.  I thought it required special equipment, large coolers, thermometers, etc.  And, I thought, if I messed up even a little, I could poison and kill my whole family (hey, bacteria can be scary stuff!).

But I have found an easier way of making yogurt, and I want to share it with you.  You can convert a gallon of milk into yogurt with less than 5 minutes of hands-on time and no special equipment other than a slow cooker.  (Yes, really!)

You will need:
-1 gallon of whole or 2% milk (you may use 1/2 gallon)
-1 small container of yogurt (must contain live active cultures)
-slow cooker
-large towel

You will NOT need:
-a fancy yogurt-making machine
-a cooler
-a thermometer

If you can pour milk, you can make yogurt!

Here are the simple steps!

Homemade Yogurt the Lazy Easy Way

1. Pour a gallon of milk into your slow cooker (you can do half a gallon if you prefer).  I like to use whole or 2% (I’ve never tried it with 1% or skim).  Put the lid on your slow cooker and turn it on low for 2.5 hours.

2. After 2.5 hours, turn it OFF and set a timer for 3 hours.

3. After 3 hours, scoop out 2 cups of the milk using a large measuring cup.  Add the container of yogurt to the milk and stir to combine.  Pour this back into your slow cooker and put the lid back on.

 

4. Wrap your slow cooker in a large towel (for insulation) and let it sit for 8 hours (or overnight).

Your yogurt is finished!  It will be somewhat thin (homemade yogurt usually is), but you can strain it to make Greek yogurt (highly recommended – see below).

Greek Yogurt

1. Line a colander with a double layer of paper towels or a single layer of cheesecloth.  Set on top of a bowl to catch the whey.  Pour in homemade yogurt.

2. Allow yogurt to strain for an hour or so until thick.

That’s it!  Greek yogurt is delicious on its own, with honey, with granola, with fruit, or as a replacement for sour cream.

**Note:  If you save 1 cup of yogurt from your first homemade batch, you can use it as the “starter” for your next batch instead of having to buy a container of yogurt!  You can freeze it if you’re not ready to make a new batch right away.

Enjoy!

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Linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tatertots & Jello

Putting My Slow Cooker to Work

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homemade chicken stock – via instagram

I’ve been putting my slow cooker to work a lot lately!  I love eating homemade, real food, but with two babies under two, I can’t spend all day in the kitchen.  Here are three new ways I’m using my slow cooker to help me get more done in less time:

straining homemade yogurt to make Greek yogurt via instagram

1-  Making yogurt. I can’t believe I never realized how easy it is to make homemade yogurt using just a Crock Pot (no thermometers, huge coolers, etc.).  I put 1/2 gallon of milk (I used whole, but 2% or 1% also work) into my slow cooker.  I cooked it on low for 2 1/2 hours, then unplugged the slow cooker and let it sit for 3 hours.  After that, I took out 2 cups of the warm milk and combined it with 1 small container of store-bought yogurt (must contain live cultures).  I put everything back in, stirred, and put the lid back on.  Then I wrapped my whole slow cooker in large beach towel and let it sit overnight (8 hours).  After 8 hours – voila! homemade yogurt!  I strained half of the yogurt (using a coffee filter) and made Greek yogurt.  It is unbelievably thick and creamy – so much better than anything store-bought, not to mention it is waaay cheaper!

2- Making chicken stock (pictured at the top of this post).  I normally do this on the stovetop, but at the recommendation of my sister-in-law, I tried it this way.  After cooking a chicken in my slow cooker, I put all of the skin/bones/etc. back in (along with leftover cooking juices) and added about 1/2 gallon of water.  I just let that heat on low for 10 hours!  After 10 hours, I strained the broth and put it in a quart canning jar.  I put all of the bones/etc. back into the Crock Pot and repeated the process… two more times!  This would, of course, work with any other bones like venison, turkey, duck, etc. (I’ve been wanting to use a duck carcass I have had in the freezer for some time.)  This is the best chicken stock I have ever made.  As you can see in the photo, it is dark and flavorful (my previous attempts have been very light and watery tasting).  Because you’re using bones you would have discarded, this stock is free to make, plus it doesn’t have all the additives that commercial stock does.

cooked black beans via instagram

3- Cooking dry beans.  I’ll admit, I have been crazy-scared (slash lazy) about cooking beans.  I always buy them canned, but I have wanted to try cooking them myself.  The slow cooker method seemed like the easiest method, so I tried it last night.  Just rinse and sort (i.e. make sure there aren’t any rocks mixed in) your beans, then cover them with cool water in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours, then season, portion into containers, and freeze for later use!  The beans are tender and have less-sodium than canned beans (you control how much salt to add).  I think they are cheaper too, but I haven’t done all the math on that yet.

What are some ways you have been putting your slow cooker to good use lately?

Linking to:
Life As Mom

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