The end of summer was marked this year by the last Padres baseball game and the local temperature finally returning to the 70s where it belongs. I made my "summer's end" frozen yogurt dog treats for my dogs using blueberries and the same recipe I posted last month. While I loved the blue color, Reggie and Layla gobbled up these treats without a second glance at the aesthetics.
Half way through the summer, I realized that my obsession with making colorful dog treats was beginning to cut into my latte budget. Rather than give anything up, I decided to try making my own organic yogurt. Using the recipe and instructions posted by The Frugal Girl, I successfully made gallon of yogurt from a gallon of milk and used it to make the frozen dog treats. If you are interested in the process, I am posting the recipe below with my comments in italics. If you would like more detailed instructions, I encourage you to check out The Frugal Girl.
Ingredients:
1 gallon of organic whole milk
1 cup of yogurt (I used a organic Greek yogurt)
Start with glass jars or similar containers that have been washed in the dishwasher or boiled for 10 minutes.
1. Pour one gallon of milk into a clean pan and heat to 185 degrees F. Heating the milk took about 5 minutes. I measured the temperature using any thermometer that I could find in my baking drawer.
2. Place pot in a sink filled with cold water (I added a few ice cubes) and let milk cool to 120 degrees F. This is an important step. If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yogurt culture. I am not very good at waiting but I found that by the time I had finished emptying the dishwasher, the milk was cool (3-4 minutes).
3. Add 3-4 inches of approximately 120 degree water to a cooler.
4. Whisk on cup of yogurt into the cooled milk.
5. Pour milk into jars and put the lids on. Place in the cooler, close the lid and ncubate for 3 hours.
6. Refrigerate. Once cooled, the yogurt can be used in the ice cream maker for the frozen yogurt dog treats. I personally like my yogurt with sugar and vanilla but the dogs do not miss it.
Have a great week!
Debbie

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