Homemade Yogurt - Yogolicious?

Homemade yogurt was all the rage a few months back.  I've just now caught up with it since I've been too busy discovering self-serve frozen yogurt...come to find out it's a few years old already.  So much for keeping up with the times.  Or my diet.  Yogolicious, our neighborhood self-serve joint is helping me eat enough to be my own house and home.  Dulce de Leche Caramel with Mother's Animal Cookies and Gummy Bears.  Heaven!!

At 33 cents an ounce, it's the cheapest sin I commit, but in order to hide the frequency from the Mr., I have to save money elsewhere so I've decided that in order to afford such a luxury (weekly) the kids can sacrifice their organic "vanana" yogurt from Trader Joe's and eat Mommy's homemade organic vavavavaoom yogurt instead.

Justified, no?

Intimidating at first, it's actually quite easy if you have all the materials needed!

Here's the recipe I've used twice with success from Small Notebook.

1) Boil 1 quart of milk until it reaches 180* (to kill all the bacteria).  "Mommy?  Why is there a clock sticking out of the pot?"

2) Let the milk cool to 110* which is the temp at which yogurt cultures.  I stick mine in the fridge so that I can complete a million other tasks because a watched pot never cools or something like that.

3) Add 2 TBS of live active cultured yogurt to a jar.  I purchased mine at Trader Joe's for the first batch and used Stonyfield for the second.  (Be sure to thoroughly wash your jar and lid first =)  As you can see, I've repurposed one - applesauce, thank you very much.

4) Add a little bit of the cooled milk and swish it around to mix with the yogurt already in the jar.

5) Wait.  Or don't wait.  Or sing a song.  Add the rest of the milk to the jar.

 6) There are a few options for this step, but I just chose to put my jar in the oven overnight with the oven light on.  Easier for me to remember it in the morning.

There are all sorts of mix-ins you can add (nuts, fruit, anything these people suggest or you can be really cool (blaring techno music a must) and put one of the Yogolicious toppings for their FROZEN yogurt.  Forgive them their spelling errors.  The music is REALLY loud in there.  But I really want to try putting actual cinnamon toast on mine next time.  The "rownie Bites" are a personal recommendation from Scooby Doo.
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Fruit Toppings
Strawberry, Mango, Blueberry, Pineapple, Kiwi, Banana, Raspberry, Blackberry, Cantaloupe, Fresh Peaches, Fresh Oranges, Honey Dew, Lychee, Pomegranate Arils, Seedless Grapes, Watermelon Sorbet
Chocolate Custard, Hawaiian Delight, Kiwi Strawberry, Mango, Pomegranate/Raspberry, Vanilla Custard, Orange


Yogolicious Dry Toppings
Almond M&M, Butterfingers, Captin Crunch, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Sprinkles, Cinemon Toast (cereal), Cocoa Puffs, Coconut Flakes, Frosted Animal Cookies, Fruity Pebbles, Garham Crunch, Granola, Gummi Bears mini, Gummi Bears reg, Gummi Worms-sour, Heath Bar, Holiday Sprinkles, Kit Kat (Chopped), Lucky Charms, Lucky Charms, M&M's (mini or reg.) Mochi, Nilla Wafers, Oreo Chocolate, Peanut M&M, Peanut Pieces, Raibow Nerds, Red Bean,Reese's PB Cups, Reese's Pieces, Semi Sweet Choc. Chips, Sliced Almond , Snicker, Sour Patch Kids, Walnut sm Pieces, Yogurt Chips

Yogolicious Wet Toppings
Banana, Blackberry, Blueberry, rownie Bites, Cantalope, Cheescake Bites, Condensed Milk, Cookie Dough Bites

Syrup
Fuit Flavored Syrup,Honeydew, Kiwi, Lychee, Mango, Peaches, Pineapple, Raspberry, Seedless Grapes, Seedless Wtermelon, Strawberry, Condenced Milk, White Chocolate Syrup, Chocolate Syrup, Caramel Syrup

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The boys did reject the first batch.  I think because it was too thin.  But toss in their usual request - frozen organic blueberries and they drank it right down =)  Haven't ventured to strain the excess liquid with a colander yet.  But I did pull out the coffee filters in preparation...and then thought "Now that wouldn't make this so easy, would it?"  And happily decided not to...

*Update - This recipe is very similar to the one I used today (7/8/10) from Super Baby Food - the thickest but most informative kiddie foodie book to hit yourself over the head with.