I have had several people tell me recently that they make their own greek yogurt.  So I finally got over all of the “heating to this” and “cooling to this” directions and tired it. It was not as difficult as I imagined.  I am blown away by how much better it tastes than the brand name greek yogurt in the stores.  I was never a fan of plain greek yogurt. Even if I added a bunch of fruit,  I inevitably needed to add honey or maple syrup for sweetness and the sugar just added up and it was still too tart for me.  But THIS yogurt tastes good, even with just the addition of a lightly sweetened granola.  If you have the time, try it.  I think once I have a system down, it will not take long at all and I can make this on a regular basis instead of buying greek yogurt.

You can use any milk.  Living here in Lancaster County, I am lucky to have some pretty cool local sources for dairy around.  I bought a brand called Oasis at our local farm market. Oasis farmers work on small, diversified farms where animals roam on healthy pastures and synthetic chemicals are not allowed.  The milk from Oasis farmers comes from grass fed cows and is pasteurized at the lowest possible heat to preserve as many health benefits as possible.   This milk is more expensive than milk in the grocery store, but to make 2 quarts of high quality, tasty greek yogurt still cost effective. You can also use regular milk from the grocery store and that works great too! There are several sites on the internet that explain how to make greek yogurt.  This is how I made it, but there are variations.  Find what works best for you!

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 gallon milk (I used whole)

1/2 cup of yogurt with live cultures

Place the milk in a large pot and scald it, stirring often, bringing it up to a temp of 178 degrees.  Remove the pot from the burner and into an ice bath until the temp lowers to 110 degrees. Wisk in the 1/2 cup of yogurt.  Pour into clean jars and place in a cooler wrapped in blankets to maintain the heat and let it sit for at least 6 hours.  I had mine in overnight, about 9 hours.  To make the thick greek yogurt, strain it using layers of cheesecloth (or you can use an old t shirt or pillowcase).  Strain it for 2 hours or until desired consistency.  Place in jars and refrigerate.

There is nothing better to go with your yogurt than granola.  This granola is packed with seeds and nuts and has the perfect amount of sweetness.

Maple Pecan Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups of rolled oats

1 cup ground flax

1 cup of raw sunflower seeds

1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2  cup slivered almonds or copped whole almonds

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix the ingredients together in a  big bowl.  Place on a baking sheet with sides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, stir and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.  Let the granola cool completely so you will have bigger chunks of granola.  Then place in an airtight container.

Layer the yogurt and granola together for a perfect parfait!! I used blueberries, granola and yogurt and I also tried pumpkin puree, granola and yogurt and pumpkin pie spice for a more seasonal version. Enjoy!