Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

Yes, you read that correctly...homemade crock pot yogurt. Cheap, easy, and oh so yummy!  Now, while I wish I could claim this recipe as my own...I can't!  I found it here:  A Year of Slow Cooking...you can read all about it there...or you can keep reading here.  Your choice!

Okay....so why homemade yogurt?  Well, we go through a lot of yogurt here.  Normally it is the Trix Yogurt or the Go-gurts...but that is so expensive (and full of sugar!!!!!)! A 6-pack (4 oz each) costs roughly $2.85 at the commissary or $3.29 at Albertsons.

With homemade yogurt you can decide how much sugar or sweetener you want to put in it (if any at all).  There are also no preservatives, you decide your fat content, and it is fun to make!

If you do a You Tube search and find many different ways to make your own yogurt at home.  And there are yogurt making machines on the market that can help...but you may already have what you need at home...and all the times are "multi-purpose".  Why spend money on something that can only be used for one thing?

So, let's get started!  You need the following items:

1 crock pot
1/2 gallon of milk (more on types in a moment)
1/2 cup of plain yogurt with live cultures
1 or 2 thick bath towles
1pkg unflavored Knox gelatin (optional)
1 cup sugar (optional)
1 Measuring cup
1 Whisk or Spoon
1 Mixing bowl
Container(s) to pour yogurt in...I recycled my pint mason jars.

***Warning*** This does take a while!  You can either start it early in the morning and finish it up right before bed time, or start it later in the day and letting the final step go over night.

Step 1)  Okay...you start by pouring the 1/2 gallon of milk into the crock pot and turn the crock pot onto LOW.  Make sure it is low.  I accidentally turned it on High once and it scorched my milk...yuck!!!! Put the lid on and let it "cook" for 2 1/2 hours.

Step 2) Unplug or turn off the crock pot and let sit for 3 hours.  I think it is best if you don't get tempted to look into the crock pot.  Just leave the lid on.  All you have right now is warm milk...nothing else! 

Step 3)  Take lid off crock pot and stir the warm milk.  Measure out 2 cups of warm milk and pour into a glass bowl.  Add 1/2 cup of plain yogurt and mix well.  Pour the milk/yogurt mixture back into the crock pot with the remaining warm milk and stir well.  Now, if you decide that you want a thicker yogurt this is when you mix in your Knox gelatin.  Caution....mix it slowly and well....otherwise you can end up with a gelatinous mess.

Step 4)  Replace crock pot lid.  Cover/wrap the crock pot with a bath towels.  Let sit for 8 hours or over night.

Step 5)  Stir up your yogurt and remove 1/2 a cup of fresh yogurt and set aside.  This will be your starer for the next time you start a batch

Step 6) Pour your yogurt into your containers and refrigerate!  If you find that you would like your yogurt sweeter...add the sugar while stirring it up.

This is so Yummy!  My kids eat it like crazy.  While it is good for 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator...ours does not last this long.  I make 2 batches a week!  This week we picked up frozen fruit to blend in and make smoothies.  They are in heaven.  They don't ask for the frozen Go-gurt we have...they ask if I have any home-made stuff.

Now, for the milk...I use lactose free milk.  This is typically all we get because 1/2 the household is lactose intolerant.  I have read of people using soy milk, rice milk, etc and having wonderful results.  Also, the fat content is going to determine how thick your yogurt will be.  The higher the fat content the thicker it is.  I use 2% or Fat Free...this is why I had the Knox gelatin.  One package of Knox gelatin makes mine the consistince of Dannon Danimals Smoothies. 

Now for some math....remember how much the Trix yogurt cost?  $3.29 for 24 ounces or $0.13/ounce.  If you go plain it is approximately $5.79 for 64 ounces of plain yogurt or .$0.09/ounce.

Okay...now, 1/2 gallon of regular 2% milk costs approximately $2.30 (which is equal to 64 oz), Knox gelatin (if used)  is about $2.39 for a box of 4.  If you use one then it will be $0.59.  For your first batch of yogurt it will be about $0.50...after that you don't have to buy any more starter.  So, add together what you use...and it is about $3.39 per batch of homemade yogurt (that is if you use the Knox gelatin)...or  $0.05/per ounce!  Now, if you choose organic, rice, soy, lactose free, etc. it is going to cost more. 

This is great for families that receive WIC...it is a fun, nutritious way to get calcium into you child.  I know at times your child may not want as much milk some days and you end up throwing some out.  This can help prevent waste too!  Your child can help make it, help flavor it when you make it into a smoothie...or even just hand it to them in a cup and let them drink up!

Enjoy!!!!

Cleaning the floors!

I was so addicted to my Swiffer Wet Jet I never conceived the idea of giving it up.  But at almost $7 for 12 refill mop cloths  and I can't even remember how much the cleaning solution was...I had to find something else.  So, I conceded to the mop and bucket.  But, I HATED it...my floors never seemed to be clean, were always sticky no mater what I used, and the mop always looked nasty...and of course it had to be replaced periodically.  Mop heads if it was a rag mop, sponges, or the entire thing when it broke...no thank you!  After watching a few infomercials Jim and I decided we should invest in a steam mop.

Why a steam mop?  Well, no chemicals, reusable, uses water, cleans well...So, we headed to Target.  It was a toss up between 2...this is the one we chose:

Shark Steam Pocket Mop

 The retail value of this is $119.  However, we were able to get it on sale for $99 with a $10 Target Gift Card...nice, huh?

This has been great!  It comes with 2 mop heads that are very easy to change.  As you can see it comes with a triangle which has been very usefull for getting into tight corners and around the toilet.  The XL Open Area covers everything else.  This mop also comes with 2 of the triangle microfiber mop covers, 2 XL microfiber mop covers, 1 XL Steam Duster mop head, and a carpet glider.

The carpet glider allows the mop head to glide across your carpet...which can freshen and deodorize your carpet.  I LOVE this!  I have used it on several occasions.  Does not leave the carpet wet, sticky, matted, etc.  It is NOT a carpet cleaner however!

Carpet Glider Attachment

Another nice feature is the mop can "flip" so that both sides of the mop cover can be used.  No stopping to change when it is dirty!  Just flip and go!  Each mop covers is washable, reusable, and cleans up very nicely!   ***Note ~ DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENER!!! Fabric softener causes microfiber to loose its absorbency and will ruin the cloth!***

Now, I will admit... I do miss the smell of my Wet Jet solution.  Funny I know...but it is what it is!

There are other options.  If you absolutely LOVE your Wet Jet (or other style such as Mr. Clean, Orange Glo, etc.) there is a reusable option!   Kristy Tillman of The Daisy Company is a WAHM that makes reusable mop heads.

Go Green Starter Kit 2 (picture NOT mine, taken from website)

She even makes them for the Swiffer Sweeper and Swiffer Duster (something else that I am tired of paying to replace, so gonna check it out myself!).  All of her items are washable, reusable, guaranteed, and even better...MADE IN THE USA!  Go check her out!  Her site is supported by The Wading Pool; this site support several WAHM's and their families.

As of right now I haven't found a suitable replacement for the Swiffer Solution. I searched Tip Nut.com for ideas. The only thing I found were patterns for making your own Swiffer Cloths and a tip on how to remove the cap off the Swiffer Solution bottle.  But, no advice on what to put it in.  Vinegar maybe?  Just one idea that I could think of.


So, just another idea of being green and saving money while I am at it.  I've had my Shark for 6 months now.  And in the past I would purchase 2 boxs of Swiffer Wet Jet Mop Cloths and 2 bottles of Wet Jet Cleaning Solution every month (Okay...so I like a clean floor!!!!).  That averages out to having been about maybe $100 or more by now?  So, in 6 months my Shark Steam Mop has paid for itself!

Composting

Okay...so we are giving composting a try.  We kept saving to purchase a compost bin from Home Depot or Costco.  But every time we had the money…something would go wrong and the money would have to be reallocated for other areas.  =(

One day I'm browsing Craigslist "free" section.  Low and behold I see someone offering a few items for free...including a composter.  So, I email them.  Only 2 of the items that I am interested in are still available...the composter is one of them.  So, we load our items and head home.

We were told that the composter had all of its parts with it.  However, upon attempting to assemble it we quickly discovered several parts were missing.  A quick trip to Home Depot and $12 later we quickly assemble our composter (retailed at $199!!!).

Typically I clean out the refrigerator every other week, right before going to the commissary.  But, it had been a bit longer because everyone had been sick, busy, etc.  So, my daughter and I started scavenging for "scraps" to toss in our bin.  I then realized that I needed to research to see exactly what I should/could put in our "new" compost bin.

I found What I can compost and what I can't compost on several sites.  A quick run down:

What to put in:

• Fruit and vegetable peelings and leaves
• tea leaves/ tea bags and coffee grounds
• fallen leaves
• grass clippings
• soft prunings
• weeds (use only young weeds; those with seed, or about to set seed, are better disposed of in the garbage bin)
• cow and horse manures
• ash (from open fireplaces)
• vacuum cleaner contents (synthetic carpet will not break down)

What NOT to put in:

• Meat, fish, chicken, dairy products & cooking oils - these may attract vermin such as mice and other pests.
• Non-living things such as plastics, bottle tops, food wrappers, metals etc
• Diseased plants
• Fruit fly infested fruit
• Pet droppings: these may contain diseases that can affect humans and other pets. Although these can be treated with the Pet Poo Converter to make them safe for use in compost. 

Other websites said not to put in cooked food.

Okay...going through the refrigerator...we had apples, oranges, carrots, celery...next we went through the potatoes, onions, and garlic...got rid of anything that was soft, very bruised, etc.  We also threw out expired eggs, hard boiled eggs, coffee grounds and tea bags from the day.

My 5 year old and 9 year old had fun running in and out with the bowl to toss into the composter; while my husband mixed in some soil, leaves, and timothy hay left over from the rabbit cages.  They each took turns flipping the composter around.

We were also given a kitchen composter...just a small plastic bin with a filter to toss in daily bits until you were ready to toss in the main composter.

This has been nice.  We make coffee and tea every day...so I just toss in the coffee, coffee filter, and tea bags.  After a day or two we just take the bin out and toss in the big composter and give it a turn!

Now, it's going to take a bit for it to all break down.  But, it's going to be so worth it I'm sure.  Our next attempt will make my 9 year old happy...a worm compost bin.  Yup!  We are going to catch and grow our own earthworms!!!!  =)  More when we get that project going!

3 - 2 - 1...LET IT RIP!!!!!!!

Today Jim and I held a Beyblade party courtesy of House Party.  For those of you who do not know what House Party is...this is the low down....

House Party teams up with sponsors to create special events to share and promote a variety of interests.   From an early viewing of the hottest new television show to special interests to toys to movies...House Party does it all!  After you sign up for House Party you can then opt to apply for parties of your choice.  After filling out a brief application you just wait to see if you are chosen to be a host/hostess!  If you are chosen you receive a box of "goodies" before your party date.  The items in your "party box" are related to your party and help make it a blast!  The online website allows you to share your ideas of how to make it a great party, send invites, and get ideas on what else you can do.  And best of all...It's FREE!!!!!  No catch, no deposits, no "if you want to host this party you have to send in a deposit."  FREE, FREE, FREE!!!!!

Okay...so I was chosen to be a hostess for a Beyblade party!  When we recieved our party box we were excited!  We opened our box and this is what we found:

5 Metal Fusion Beyblades
1 Beyblade Battle Arena
15 Music CD's with Beyblade rap song (kinda cool sounding!)
12 Posters of the newest Beyblades
15 $1 off Coupons to pass out to party guests to purchase their own Beyblade
1 Rule book
1 Preview disk that gave the low down on Beyblade and the cartoon it is linked to!

I estimate the retail value of this box around $150 to $200!  After all the Beyblades cost $9.97/each at Walmart.com.  The Battle Arena is $9.97 at Walmart.com...although when I was at Target these items were $7.99 and $19.99 respectively.  Add the cost of a music cd, posters, etc...yeah...a NICE box!!!!

So, we invited several of the kids school friends to come and battle it out.  We had 4 of my kids, the triplets, and my youngest daughters friend.  For over an hour they took turns launching the Beyblades and hoping that the one they chose was the last to "fall."  We played 2 rounds and the winners of the rounds would battle it out in the very end....here were our 2 finalists:

And the winner was!!!!!

Little Miss Thing here got to take home her very own Beyblade!  She was so excited!

Then it was cake time.  We custom ordered the cake through Albertsons, picked up some veggies, crackers, and soda.  Made some Koolaid, sliced up the veggies, some cheese, some ham...and had a blast!

After we were officially done with the party the kids all sat around, taking turns, and continuing to battle it out in the arena just for fun...while waiting for Mom to pick everyone up.

It was a fun day for all of us.  And thanks to House Party I was able to give moms and dads a short break, 8 kids a fun filled afternoon that they are sure to talk about at school on Monday...all without breaking my own bank!!!!

If you want more information on how to host your own House Party check them out here at House Party.com.  I am waiting to see if I hear from them on several other parties that I have applied for!  I hope I am selected again!  It has been a BLAST!!!!!!

A solar & wind powered dryer...

Great invention right?   It came along long before being “green” was the thing to do.  Or being frugal for that matter… I think my mom invented it…or was it my grandma?  Or was it her grandma?  Who really knows…and what is it you may ask (only if you are totally oblivious at this point…hehe)…it is a CLOTHES LINE!!!!

My first attempt at going green (so to speak) was not with cloth diapers.  And since recycling is mandatory here in our area of San Diego county…that doesn’t count.  So, in fact my first attempt of going green was with a clothes line.

Nothing fancy…just a cheap line picked up from the commissary and tied between a post and the fence.  It has to be temporary because our yard is on the small side and we have a play structure in between.  Kids gotta have room to play somewhere!

The short of it is…last summer it was HOT!  SUNNY!  And we needed to lower our utility bills…seriously.  So, rather than running the dryer for umpteen times in a day, I strung out my line, grabbed the clothes-pins, and hung out my first load.  It reminded me of being a kid...

(Reminiscing here now)  I'm a little girl...not sure how old...but my mom is hanging clothes on the line.  The line is above my head...but the sheets hang low enough that I can kinda run in and out of them.  In the evening she would take them down and make my bed...oh the smell!  There is NOTHING that can replace the smell of fresh washed sheets, dried by the sun and wind.  Sorry Downy!  And the feeling...kinda rough, but not in a bad way.  Having her pull those sheets up over top of me...bending over and kissing me good night...oh to be that little girl again.

Okay...so now it is my turn...The clothes came off the line…crisp, warm, and fresh.  Folded them as I went (I have a nasty habit of NOT getting done when coming out of the dryer).  

Another good use for a clothes line…the sun works like a natural bleach.  I dry the baby’s cloth diapers on the line and the sun bleaches out the poop stains.  I am going to hate it when the rainy season starts…I HATE poop stains on the diapers.  Now as I mentioned the clothes are crisp…this includes diapers.  So, I throw them in the dryer for about 20 min with 2 clean tennis balls…softens them right up!

Anyone can dry their clothes outside…well, if you have sunshine…doesn’t work so well in the rain!  If you have a small space…string up a line.  They are cheap and reusable.  I know a lot of people have HOA rules saying you can’t have one…just check.  If it is up just long enough to use, not permanent…you may be able to get away with one.

Now, I am a bit pampered and won’t give up a few things.  For example…I don’t want crisp socks or undergarments…so those go into the dryer.  I’m all for being green…but even I have my limits!  Sorry great-grams!

The Diaper Train!

When my husband and I decided to use cloth diapers on our son there was a mixed reaction…from “Are you freaking kidding me?” to “Cool!”.  And the reactions were followed by questions…”Are you freaking kidding me?” to “is it hard?” to “does it really save money?”

Well, here is the nitty-gritty of it. Once upon a time I was a proud, disposable diapering momma of 4.  I never once thought of putting them in cloth diapers.  Why you ask?  Well, after helping my mother change my baby brother's diaper some 26 odd years ago I had absolutely NO interest in cleaning any more poop out of diapers so they could be washed.  I call it the "poop factor."  And cleaning poop out of diapers ranks right up there with cleaning up vomit.  Okay, not a pretty picture...but hopefully you get my point.

Okay, Okay…you ask…what made you decide to go with cloth diapers?  Well,, my husband, my family, and I have been trying to do things that are better for the environment.  We recycle, reuse, re-purpose...etc.  But, we knew we could do better.  So, when we found out we were expecting #5 we briefly touched on the topic of cloth diapers...but then came the "poop factor" and I proclaimed a "Hell NO!"

“You said ‘no’…but are doing it?  How confusing!”

It really all started to turn around when I joined PregnancyWeekly.com with other mommies-to-be.  (this is a great recourse if you are expecting!  You are grouped with other mommies-to-be that are due the same month as you are!).  Anyway, one of the mommies on the board shared some interesting information she found on a product called gDiaper.

Now a gDiaper…what an interesting concept.  Basically what it is, is…a hybrid diaper.  There are 3 parts to it.  A cute outer shell known as a gPant…these come in a variety of colors that they change on regular occasions and can be quite addicting in collecting!  Next is the snap-in gLiner…a waterproof barrier that holds the next part.  It works almost like the old fashioned vinyl pants.  These first two parts are reusable.  Then there is the gRefill and the gCloth.  The gRefill is a disposable liner that takes the place of a disposable diaper.  It is a one-time use and flush.  Yes, you read that right…it is flushable.  –Or- you can compost it!  The gRefill is 100% bidegradable and unlike a traditional disposable diaper it breaks down in a matter of weeks rather than a few generations from now!  If you would like to skip the whole disposable scene you can use the gCloth which is a reusable cloth insert that you pop in the gLiner and wash when dirty!  Kinda cool!!!

Needless to say…it grabbed our attention.  We began to research how it really worked and found lots of videos on youtube.com that showed some really cool stuff.

We decided to go with the gRefill (they hadn’t came out with the gCloth just yet) and started purchasing the gDiapers off Craigs List.  One mom told me that she used the everyday Gerber pre-fold diapers in her gDiapers instead of the gRefill and it worked great.  So, we discussed the whole cloth vs. gRefill disposable.  The topic of the “poop factor” came up again.

Then we found flushable liners made by Kushies.  All this was, was a roll (toilet paper looking) of super thin liners that go onto a cloth diaper.  When baby poops, he poops onto the liner.  You just pull the liner off and flush!  No rinsing poop off the diapers…so once again our curiosity was peaked and we discussed it further.

We decided to use Gerber pre-folds in the gDiaper.  After all…this will allow us to go green AND save money too!  Then they came out with the gCloth…even better!

So, we did the math.  For aproximatly $110 we could get 6 gDiapers, gLiners and 12 gPants.  That was the gBundle.  We figured we would need a minimum of 24 gCloths to do laundry quite a bit.  Add another $60.  Well, I don’t’ want to do laundry EVERY day…so let’s make it a total of 36 gCloths…that should let me do laundry every other day…so, we were looking at a grand total of about $200. 

WOW!  That’s a lot for some diapers.  But, we did the math.  A package of diapers about $20 (we use Huggies only…sorry, some brand loyalty there).  On average we would go through 1 package of diapers every 4 days or so.  So, we are looking at about 6 packages of diapers a month…or $120/month for the first 2 months…then possibly dropping after that.  So, the first two months alone would cost about $220.  Then every month there is an additional $75 to $120.  So after 2 months the gDiapers would have already paid for themselves.  And the small go from like 8lbs to 14lbs.

But, if Gerber pre-folds work we can save even more money.  For 12 pre-folds it is about $12.  So, we purchased 4 packages…$48.  We saved even more by getting our gDiapers off Craigs List.  So for about $200 we purchased some small, mediums, and larges AND some gRefills.

Now, what we didn’t know was that gDiapers don’t work for EVERY baby.  We used the Gerber pre-folds and had serious leaking issues.  (I know a few women who have had NO issues with their pre-folds in the gDiapers).  So, we ordered 2 packages of the gCloths…those didn’t work so well for us too.  We were at a loss of what to do.

Well, I didn’t want my pre-folds to go to waste so we purchased some Happy Hineys One Size Diaper covers and a couple of Snapies (kinda cool and they replace old fashioned diaper pins!).  The gCloths didn’t go to waste…we line the pre-folds to keep the diapers from rubbing my sons “bits” and provide extra absorbency.  Works out GREAT!!!!!

So, through trial and error we have totally switched to a cloth diaper.

Night time created its own issues.  The pre-folds just didn’t hold up for my wee man.  So, we purchased some Happy Hineys One Size Pocket Diapers; these allow me to put extra absorbent padding and have worked like a dream!  We can go 12 hours without having to change him…not that we have had to do that often.

So, our success thus far has given us the courage to purchase our daughter (who occasionally has night time accidents) into a re-usable pull-up.  She is actually too big for a standard pull-up.  So, she tears the side out when she pulls the down.  Under-jams…or whatever they are called…are just too expensive.  So, once again we did the math….for the price of one package of pull-ups we could get one re-usable pull-up.  We got her the Happy Hiney Training Pants.  These have worked really well!  We use the gCloth in these too.  And my daughter loves them!

In the end it has really worked out.  While gDiapers didn’t meet our expectations….they gave us the courage to jump head first into cloth diapers.  And we are loving the cloth diapering world! My son is 3 months now and has not had a diaper rash (even in this heat we have been having).  While the start-up costs are higher…in the end…we are saving a small fortune in diapers….and being green while we are at it!

The beginning

This is my first post here...so I figured why not start at the beginning?

Let's see...I am a stay-at-home mom of 5 beautiful children.  At this time they are 14, 12, 9, 5, and 3 months.  My husband is retired Navy.  No, I did not have the blessing of going through his career with him...but I have been a Navy wife.  My first husband was in the Navy.  My family saw West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, California, and Hawaii.  So, we have been around a little...very little compared to some military families!

We live in Sunny Southern San Diego County...more precisely...Escondido. My husband has been here for a little while now.  My older 4 kids and I came here to be with him about 2 1/2 years ago.  We have collected quite the zoo since getting here.  When we moved in my husband had a single dog...Jack the Great Dane.  We brought with us 2 cats.  Shortly after that we adopted a couple of cockatiles.  Then after that we rescued another kitten and he kinda stuck around.  THEN someone had a soft spot (and obviously not myself!) and allowed the children to adopt 3 rabbits and a guinea pig.  Quite the zoo huh?  Then tragedy struck...one of the cockaitels escaped while the cage was being moved.  Two weeks after that Jack became so sick from end-stage cancer that we felt we needed to put him down.  A week after that we adopted Cocoa...another great dane.

Well, how did we get to where we are now wanting to live cheaper...and greener?  Baby #5 came along.  With 9 pets, 5 children, 2 adults, mortgage, bills, etc...we needed to start saving money somewhere.  So my husband and I deciding that we actually wanted to cloth diaper the baby... saving us $$.  We explored the options and thanks to gDiapers we decided to give it a go.  And from there we have gone onto pre-folds and pocket diapers.

So, if we are going to cloth diaper to save money (and be green) why stop there?  From there we decided to make our own baby wipes, then our own detergent, start a compost bin...and we are going on and on!

It is a learning process for us and we still have a LONG way to go.  So, here starts our journey...the beginning....