Why I Decided to Start a Blog!!

 

 

Today, as I go through my family’s belongings for a garage sale, I find myself thinking about how God calls us do wonderful things to Glorify Him. Tomorrow, my Community Group (this is a small group we meet with mid-week, outside of church) is have a ginormous garage sale to raise money for our new church building. Many of the families in our group, including mine, are single income families. Our budget doesn’t really allow for us to support this cause to the extent we want to.

Lucky for us, one of the couples in our Community Group answered a call from God. In Acts 2:45 it says that the early church sold their belongings and distributed the proceeds among them, to those who had need. This couple decided to hold a garage sale and encourage contributions from anyone wanting to support our new church. Already, I have seen evidence that this is a call from God. People they have never met opened their hearts and garages to offer donations to sell.

I am excited to see the evidence of God’s grace through this garage sale. Many times, when we follow God’s call to action, he does so much more than the intended purpose. Last year, I answered a call from God to have a garage sale.  A couple in my church was pregnant, unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. It was a very difficult time for them. I coordinated a Community Group garage sale to try and help them with at least a little of their financial burden. The week of the garage sale God answered our prayers for him to find a job. Our garage sale earned enough money to pay off a very large bill they had been stressing over. If fact, it was within $10 of the total bill amount.

At the garage sale, God used us in other ways. A woman came to our sale looking for a car seat for her granddaughter. She had to have a car seat and a bed by the next day to pass an inspection to keep her granddaughter out of foster care. Luckily we had a car seat. I also had an extra bed at home in the garage I had not intended to sell. I gave the woman my address and gave her the bed. That woman was blessed that day. God answered her prayers and used us to do it.

This is the reason I am writing this blog. I feel this is a call to action from God. There are many reasons to not write this blog. Is it needed? Is it necessary? Is it worth the amount of time and effort? Do people even read it? Am I really helping anyone?

The answer to most these questions is a definite yes. It is needed and necessary? Yes, if for no one else, I need it. I finally have a scheduled time almost every day for God. I have struggled with that for some time. Is it worth the time and effort? Yes, God is definitely worth the time and effort!! Do people read it? I don’t know for sure. You tell me. Am I really helping anyone? Absolutely!! I am helping me and my relationship with God.  I am depending on him to help me know what to write about. I have to ask him daily how he wants me to put my posts together and how can I glorify him through them.  I haven’t had to do this much biblical studying ever!! I want to be sure that I put out correct and biblical information. In order to do that, I have to research the ideas I want to write about.

 In Luke 18:22 a rich ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After he established he had not broken the commandments, Jesus told him to sell everything he had and distribute to the poor, then follow him. The next verse tells us that this made the rich leader sad. He didn’t want to give up his wealth. His wealth was more important than following Jesus; more important than eternal life. In this he had broken the first commandment. The first commandment, “You shall have no other God’s before me,” is broken by most of us every day. Some of us value our money over God, some of us our time. Sometimes it’s Facebook or a video game. What is keeping you from answering God’s call? What do you value more than what God has for you? Is God calling you to something that might take away from one of your idols? Even as I type this I’m looking at the clock and wondering how I’m going to have enough time to do everything I want to do today. I know how, I’m going to give it to God.

I don’t know how God is going to use our garage sale this weekend, outside of raising money for the church, but I look forward to finding out.  Have a great weekend!!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 2:45 (ESV)

 

22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.” 23But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

Luke 18:22,23 (ESV)

 

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Low Carb/Paleo Almond Bread

 

 

4,255 days. 11 years, 7 months and 5 days. That is how long it took me and my husband to have a child. In about our third year of marriage I found out I was pregnant. However, that little baby went to meet Jesus before the 3^rd month of pregnancy. The disappointment, month after month, is not easy to explain. Some months the realization I wasn’t pregnant felt like a tiny ball of disappointment in my heart. Other months, it hit me like a brick wall of devastation. The only circumstance harder than not being able to conceive a child was losing one. Everywhere I went, I watched pregnant women and new mothers with envy.

Fast forward through those devastating years to the end of 2009. We finally decided we needed help. At a New Year’s Eve celebration I had the privilege of talking to a very pregnant friend. She was telling me how her son was conceived through IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). She explained to me the procedures I would have to go through to find out why we were not getting pregnant. She also explained a little about the IVF procedure she went through.

Talking to her that night was enough to motivate me to call a fertility clinic and schedule a consult. I had my first appointment by mid-February and shortly after was told I could not naturally conceive. We needed to proceed with IVF. One year later, on March 27, my miracle was born. He was my 7lb 4 oz. miracle baby and he was perfect!!

Through many of those years of anxious anticipation my husband and I would find ourselves in the toy department of various stores dreaming about the expensive toys we would buy our future child. We planned the most expensive motorized cars and top of the line electronics. Our child would want for nothing.

 I was back to work for two weeks after Levi was born when I had a change of heart. I desperately wanted to spend my days caring for my son. Even if it meant not being able to buy my son every toy he wanted. Even if it meant not being able to buy every kitchen toy I wanted. At that point, my husband and I agreed to find a way for me to quit my job. About 18 months later we moved to Nevada and I quit my job to be a stay at home mommy.

That is a decision we stand by to this day. We cannot buy every toy Levi wants. We can’t even buy the organic groceries I want. Is it worth it? Absolutely!!

I may not be able to buy my little boy the most awesome motorized car in the toy department, but when he says, “Mommy, I want a sandwich, please!” I can certainly make him some bread so he can have a sandwich. My house is gluten free because I have gluten sensitivity. When I ingest gluten, it basically shuts me down for several days. My family would choose for me to be functional over bread any day.

After making almond flour in my last post, and telling you about my really great almond bread recipe, I decided to make some bread. I want to give my miracle baby a sandwich, a little way to show him I love him.

I chose to make baguette loaves, but you can turn this recipe into almost anything you want. You can shape it into a roll for a sub sandwich or even hamburger buns. I like to make hamburger buns and use it for Sloppy Joes. I used this recipe on Super Bowl Sunday to make sub sandwiches, and they were so good. We are going to Washington next week and I’m planning on making tea sandwiches on this bread for the drive.

So, here is the recipe. I got the original recipe from Maria's Nutritional and Delicious Journal. I have made a couple modifications to suit my own taste, but basically follow her recipe.

Low Carb/Paleo Almond Bread

Ingredients:

·         1 ½ cup of almond flour (her recipe calls for blanched almond flour; I made it with my home made flour and blanched side by side and prefer my home made flour. It gives it more of a whole wheat taste)

·         5 tablespoons of psyllium husk powder (no substitutes, flax will not work)

·         2 teaspoons of baking powder

·         1 teaspoons of salt

·         1 oz. (2 ½ tablespoons) of apple cider vinegar

·         2 eggs (or three egg whites to make it rise more)

·         1 cup of boiling water.

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Mix almond flour, psyllium husk, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well combined.

3.       Add egg whites and vinegar and mix until it looks like thick dough.

4.       Add boiling water and mix until dough appears firm

5.       Form into long roll in greased baguette pan.

6.       Bake for 55 minutes and cool completely before cutting with a serrated knife.

Used egg Whites for these

You can also make 4 or 5 1” disks to make hamburger buns. Bake smaller shapes for 50 minutes.

I used whole eggs in the baguette recipe to keep it from raising so much, when you use egg whites, it will rise 2 or 3 times the original size, which makes for great sub sandwiches and hamburger buns.




 

For those of you who may be reading this who also struggle with infertility, I am so deeply sorry. I can tell you from experience that God’s plan is perfect. He may be waiting until he has you ready to be the best parent you can be before he blesses you with a child of your own. He may want you to take a different route to parenting. I don’t pretend to know what God’s plan is for my life, but I try to keep in mind that it is not only what is best for me but will also glorify him.

I Hope you enjoy this bread as much as I do!!

 

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17 (ESV)

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Make your own Almond Milk and Almond Flour

 

 

I hate getting old. Well, sometimes I hate getting old. Honestly, you couldn’t pay me to go back to my 20’s. They weren’t awful years, but I find it easier to be content these days. I suppose most, if not all of that has to do with my relationship and commitment to God. He taught me how to love my husband and he taught my husband how to love me, all after we had been married over ten years. It turns out, being incredibly in love with my best friend and having the privilege to be married to him makes me happy. Who knew?  I didn’t realize how superficial and selfish I was until God changed my heart.

What I hate about getting old is the physical changes. I have to eat about half the amount of food and I have to exercise twice as much to lose weight as I did in my 20’s. My hair is thinner and it takes more coffee to get motivated in the morning. Also, I can no longer eat things I have always been able to eat.

About a year after my son was born I started losing my hair, by the handful. I didn’t know what was going on. I was pretty worried. I lived in Western Washington at that time and going gluten free seemed to be the biggest trend, it seemed like everyone was doing it. So I decided to try it. Three days after I removed gluten from my diet I felt a noticeable change. It was like my steps had gotten lighter. I was walking on air! I felt wonderful and energized. A few days later, my hair had stopped falling out. It was great. Avoiding gluten wasn’t ideal but at least I was able to function at a normal energy level.

It wasn’t long after that, I noticed my stomach hurt when I drank milk. Not good! I love milk and cheese and yogurt and ice cream and the list goes on and on. Not only do I love dairy, but my breakfast usually includes a protein shake. How do I make a protein shake without milk?

That’s where today's post is helpful. If you can’t make your protein shake with dairy milk, make it with almond or coconut milk. I prefer almond, so that is what I will be sharing today. I’ll save coconut milk for another day.

There are a few reasons to make your own almond milk. One very good reason is chemicals. Typical almond milk from the grocery store has preservatives and other chemicals in it. When I make it myself, I know exactly what is in it and don't have to question whether it may be harmful or not. I find comfort in that. Another reason is price. Almond milk at the grocery store is pretty expensive. If you get your almonds in bulk, it costs less than half the price to make it. Lastly, I make it is because of my gluten sensitivity. I can’t tolerate wheat flours and almond flour is one of my favorites to bake with. It is perfect for low carb baked goods. After the almond milk is strained, the almond “pulp” can be dehydrated and ground for flour. I have a recipe for Low Carb almond bread and it is amazing!! I made gluten free subs with it for the Super Bowl this year.

This recipe is pretty simple, but you have to plan a little.

·         Soak one cup of almonds in water overnight (or at least 8 hours)

·         After soaking, drain and rinse Almonds.

·         Put almonds and 6 cups of distilled water in a high power blender (I use my Ninja).

·         Blend on High.Strain almonds in a nut bag (I don’t use a nut bag, I use a piece of muslin I got at the fabric store. It strains beautifully and is reusable).

·         Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla if desired

Bottle and refrigerate the almond milk for up to 4 days.

Continue if you want to make almond flour with your almond meal. You can also mix the almond meal as is with spices and bread meat with it.

·         Spread almond meal over parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

·         Place in oven, with oven on lowest temperature, for 1 to 2 hours, until dry. *Leave oven door open!!

·         Grind meal and store. I use my magic bullet; you can use a coffee grinder or any type of grinder with a flat blade.

This milk should have 35 to 40 calories per serving, similar to the low calorie Almond Milk at the grocery store. If you like your almond milk creamier, use less water. If you want to drop the calorie or fat content, try adding water. This is a very flexible recipe and is easily altered to fit your Almond Milk needs.

As I wrote this post, I asked myself a few questions. Some of these are questions I wish I had asked myself ten years ago. What stage of life are you in? Do you ever wonder what your future self would think of you now? Do you ever question your priorities or motives; question whether they really matter in the grand scheme of things? If you are unhappy, is it possible you are looking for the wrong things to make you happy? Are you putting your hope for happiness in eternal things, or in fleeting things?

 
 

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

4 Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.

 I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and I will save.

Isaiah 46:4 (ESV)

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How I Make My Carpet Look New for Under $2

 

 

Who doesn’t love having their carpets cleaned? I love having my carpets cleaned, especially as I watch my son crawl around or fall asleep on them. It gives me a sense of satisfaction as I watch him, knowing that I have done my best to give him a comfortable and safe place to play. Sometimes, it can be a lot of work, mainly because he is messy and doesn’t mind apple sauce in the carpet, but it is worth it.

So, today I am going to tell you how I clean my carpets. I try to make my home an anti-harmful chemicals zone, so my “cleaning concoction” is safe for my child and dog. It is also dirt cheap!!! Here it is!!!

Yep, that’s it. And it gets up everything, from red wine to coffee and even rust stains from furniture. Also, it is completely non-toxic. One day, when my son was beginning to crawl, I cleaned my floors with Lysol Mr. Clean all-purpose cleaner, we had wood floors then. For years I loved cleaning with the rain scented cleaner. It was refreshing to me. One day, while cleaning my floors I looked over at my son who was trying to crawl on a freshly cleaned space. That scent smelled so good to me, but my face wasn’t 6 inches from the floor. What could it be doing to him? I doubt that it was as refreshing to him. Then I watched him put his hands in his mouth. What kind of chemicals did my kid just put in his mouth? Ever since that day, I have made it my mission to be more careful about what I clean my house with. If it isn’t something that is safe to be ingested, then I don’t want it in my home.

Because of this, I make most of my cleaning supplies. My plan is to tell you how I do it as I need to make more, so watch for more recipes!!  My recipes are very simple and save me a lot of money.

For this concoction, I simply put hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle or in the cleaner reservoir of my steam cleaner, and add a little soap. For the spray bottle in the picture, I put in about a teaspoon of soap. In my cleaner reservoir, I put in a couple of squirts.  It really doesn’t matter how much soap, as long as you don’t use too much. If you steam clean with it, it could make the rinse step take longer if you use too much soap.

You do not have to use this kind of dish soap. I use this Kirkland soap from Costco because it is all natural and doesn’t have any harmful chemicals. If you are in the market for an all-natural dish cleaner, I really like this one. I switched recently from Dawn and I don’t see much difference as far as how well it cleans dishes.

The very first thing you want to do is mix some hydrogen peroxide and a little dish soap in a spray bottle. A dark bottle is best because the sun causes it to turn into water. Test a small piece of carpet in a hidden area with the solution. I have not seen it bleach out carpet or fabric, but it did an excellent job of making my dark brown hair blond when I was in 8^th grade.

If your carpet test turns out ok, you are ready to clean!! I have a Bissell Pro-Heat carpet cleaner. It is about 7 years old, but is still kicking. This is actually the second one I have had, I recommend this cleaner for anyone in the market. If you do not have a steam cleaner or do not wish to buy one, you can rent a rug doctor at some grocery stores for a reasonable price. My carpet cleaner has paid for itself many times over. I have a dog and a two year old, so I try to clean my carpets at least every 3 months.

I fill the cleaner reservoir with peroxide and soap solution. After that, I follow the steam cleaner instructions. I clean my carpets in “areas.” I usually start with under the couch. I clean it in one direction, then in another. Left to right, then I flip 90 degrees and do it again.

 
After I have sucked up much of the water, I spot clean (with the solution in the spray bottle) any stains that have not yet lifted. These are usually the bad ones, wine, coffee or grape juice. I also had rust spots from some metal bars going along the bottom of my couch. Spray it generously, let it sit for a minute, then rub with a rag or washcloth. On some of the really bad ones I had to do this twice. But they all came out. After the stain removal, I usually go over the area once more with a rinse, suck up as much water as possible, and then move on to the next area.  

I also clean my walls while I’m cleaning carpets. I find it a good opportunity since I am moving my furniture out of the way. I clean my walls with the same peroxide solution and rag. For marker or crayons I usually have to resort to a magic eraser, but the peroxide solution works great for sticky fingerprints. It works really, really well for the time out corner, which can get pretty gross really fast!!



It can be hard to see but there are many stains, especially in
the high traffic areas.

I do this to all of my carpets. I will usually rotate cleaning the top and bottom floor of my apartment, cleaning the bottom floor more often.

Use really hot water and rinse well and your carpet should get its original texture back. If it was fluffy, it should be fluffy again.  It also makes it very soft for the first day or so. I love walking barefoot on my freshly cleaned capet!

Over the years, I have used many expensive carpet cleaners. I have never found one to work as well as this one. It also seems to remove pet odor, and the cost is minimal. I used less than one of the ginormous Costco sized bottles of peroxide for my living room, play area and dining room. It costs me roughly $2 or less to clean the carpets to my entire bottom floor. The store bought cleaner costs roughly $10 and I use the entire bottle to clean my place.



I hope I gave you something good to take away with you today!! I think tomorrow I’m going to talk about what I’m doing with the other bottle of peroxide. Stay tuned!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel
 

3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; 4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Proverbs 24:3, 4 (ESV)

 

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My Independence Day Nightmare!! And How I Got Out of It!!

 

 

Well, the weekend is over and it’s back to the grindstone. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Ours was mostly great, except for the day I woke up to a nightmare!!

Thursday morning, the 4^th of July, I got up a little late. We went to a baseball game the night before and didn’t get in until well after bedtime. I went down to the kitchen to make some coffee and start breakfast. At some point I looked down and saw a couple of little worms on the floor. “That’s weird,” I thought, as I got a paper towel to clean them up. When I bent over to pick them up I saw more, and more and more. I needed something more than a paper towel.

Apparently, I threw something out the morning before that attracted flies to my garbage can. Those flies decided to make offspring which caused half of the bottom floor of my house to be infested with maggots. This was truly a nightmare.

Once I realized what was happening, I threw out my trashcan. The whole thing! Luckily it was garbage day.  Who knew garbage men in Nevada ran on holidays? I vacuumed every little creature I could find. I was on a hunt.

I Google searched how to kill the little rodents and almost cried. There was a picture on the bottom of the page of an iron, telling me how to make them come up out of the carpet. The carpet? You mean they will get into your carpet. The nightmare I thought I would be out of in a couple of hours now looked like an all-day extravaganza!! This is not how I wanted to spend my Independence Day!

Well, I didn’t cry. I got to work. We had a BBQ to attend at 4:30 and I was determined to be rid of all of these little things before we had to be there.

I started with the kitchen and the pantry (where my garbage can usually resides). I removed everything from the pantry, vacuumed and cleaned with vinegar. I cleaned everything that came out and put it back in. Then I vacuumed the kitchen, then swept, then mopped with vinegar (including under the appliances). I got on my hands and knees looking for them and there was nothing in sight.

I also boiled a couple of big pots of water. I poured the water in my large garbage can, over and in the maggot infested one.

The carpet was the game changer. I didn’t see anything in the carpet. Was I even sure they had gotten that far? So I pulled out my clothes steamer (it is a little more user friendly than a steam iron) and tested it. Running steam over the carpet makes them poke their little heads out. OMGoodness!! There were maggots in my carpet!! This is one of the most horrifying things that has happened to me as a homemaker!! I'll take dishes and diapers anyday!!

Luckily, my husband gave me a Shark steam mop a few years back for Christmas. It really saved a lot of time. I steam mopped my carpets, a couple of feet at a time and waited for the little suckers to come up out of my carpet. Then, with a gloved hand, I threw them in a mop bucket of pure white vinegar. This was incredibly time consuming and actually made me sore the next day!! However, it was worth it, because I got almost every one of those little guys out of my carpet!!

After that, just to be sure, I cleaned all of the edges and corners (seems to be where they like to hang out, I didn’t find any in the middle of my floor) of my carpet with my Bissell steam cleaner (if you ever have this problem, you can rent a Rug Doctor pretty cheaply for a day). Instead of using carpet shampoo, I used vinegar, which should kill them.

And all that seemed to do it. I cleaned all of my carpets yesterday and I only found three or four and they were dead.

There are other ways to kill these guys, but I really wanted to do it without introducing harmful chemicals to my child or my dog.  There are many chemicals that should kill them, 409, or an equivalent, and automotive chemicals. One article I read said to shampoo your carpet with lice shampoo. I would have been willing to do that if I had to, but it wasn’t my first choice.

So, what do you do when you wake up and find yourself in a nightmare, or another sort of trial? I prayed, a lot, and got to work and prayed while working. Anytime it seemed a little more hopeless, I prayed more. Then I tried to look on the brighter side. I know!! What kind of brighter side is there to finding your house infested with maggots? Well, I have needed to clean my pantry for a few weeks. I looked at it at least once a week and thought to myself that I needed to remove everything and clean. Now, I have a bright and shiny clean pantry!! Also, my carpet was looking pretty bad, it’s cheap apartment carpet and the stains show really bad. I’m trying to potty train my 2 year old and thought I might wait, since he’s probably going to pee all over the place anyhow.  Now my carpet is not only squeaky clean, it has no stains and is soft and fluffy to walk on. I may have been able to put it off if it hadn’t been for the infestation, but now my husband and I are both happier these things are clean.

Also, I really felt "I deserved" a watermelon, chocolate mint mojito at that BBQ we went to. It made the night a little sweeter after all of the work I put in.

Are you going through any trails right now? Have you turned to God to help you through them? Do you have any brighter sides? When my Dad passed away several years ago, it was unexpected and tragic. Out of that tragedy, his brother, my uncle, accepted Christ as his savior. As much as I miss my dad, I would call that a brighter side!!

I know this isn’t a “how to” you were looking forward to, but now, if you ever have this problem (I pray you don’t), you know how to take care of it fairly quickly and without harmful chemicals.

Tomorrow I’m going to tell you how I got all of the stains from my carpet and made it fluffy soft, so stay tuned!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

James 1:2,3 (ESV)

 

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Remember our Veterans and Those still serving Today!!

Happy Fourth of July!!

What are your plans for this holiday weekend? We are pretty busy this holiday. Yesterday we kicked off the long weekend with a baseball game and some fireworks. Today, we are going to a BBQ with close friends, this morning I will be making more cheese for some caprice to take with us. Tomorrow we’re going to spend the day at the lake to visit friends.  I am so excited about this fun filled time with my husband. My son and I miss him during the week and cherish long weekends like this.

Last night after the baseball game, the ballpark let off a big fireworks display. It was a good show, complete with almost all the “I Love America” songs and ending with John Phillips Sousa. The best part of the display for my husband and I was watching the reaction of our two year old son. He Loved It!! He stood on his Daddy’s lap yelling and clapping!!

As a child, Fourth of July was my favorite holiday. It warms my heart to watch my very happy little boy as we celebrate our country’s freedom.  I have always loved fun, family packed celebrations ending in fireworks.

As we celebrate today, let’s remember the families who don’t get to spend this holiday weekend together. Let’s pray for the mommies and daddies who won’t get the chance to watch their children enjoy the fireworks.

I spent several years in the Army after High School. Going into the military was one of the best choices I ever made. I originally went in to pay for college, but little did I know that it would shape my life in other ways.

The Army taught me to fix radios. That was my job.  I ended up being very good at it and I loved it. I ended up working in the electronics/electrical field for the next 15 years.

I also met my husband in the Army. He lived two doors down from me in the barracks. We dated briefly and got married while still serving.

So many good things came from my years in the Army, I had a trade that I loved, a Husband that I love and adore and I have kept in touch with some wonderful friends.

Two weeks ago my nephew went back to live with his Mom, after living with us for the first half of the year. She is in the Navy and had training she had to go to. This is the second time he has come to live with us. The first time was longer, while she was in Afghanistan. Because of some fertility problems, I did not have children while in the Army, and for that I am almost grateful. 

It was a treat for us, as we love him and he is a wonderful kid, but it was so hard for her. To have to leave your child for an extended amount of time is one of the worst things a parent can go through, outside of illness or death.

So you celebrate Independence Day, please keep those who fight for our independence in your prayers. Not only are their lives on the line, in many cases, so are their hearts.

I will not be posting tomorrow because I will hopefully be out of range from electronic communication. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your families!!

May Your Joy Be Full,  

Rachel

 

 

 

 

“A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace”.

Ecclesiastes 3:8

 

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Ways to Use and Repurpose a Gallon of Milk--Without Drinking It!! PART 3: Make Greek Yogurt with a Gallon of Milk and a Crock Pot

Today, before I get into the "how to" section of this post, I want to talk about a story. In Matthew 25 of the New Testament, Jesus tells us a story of a master and 3 servants. He gave all three servants talents (money) to steward, or be responsible for, while he was gone. The first servant was given 5 talents, while the second was given 2 talents and the third was given one. The first two servants invested their talents and doubled what they were given, while the third servant buried his talent in the sand because he was afraid of his master. When the master came back, he praised the first two servants, who doubled their talents. He told the first one, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much." However, he was very angry at the third servant for being lazy and not trusting his master enough to do as he was told. He called him a wicked and slothful servant.

I feel,as a homemaker, I can relate to this story in many ways. I don't know how to invest money, that is not one of my gifts. I do, however, know (or am learning) how to stretch money. In the last month, I have brought my grocery bill down from $150 to $100 a week.  That's a saving of $200 a month!! I have to admit I can't buy organic, grass fed meat, and I have to be decisive on which produce items I can buy organic, but my family has access to whole, healthy foods and our budget is just a little bit easier to manage. I am trying my best to "be faithful over a little," even if it means taking the time to make some of our food myself. I don't want my slothfulness or laziness to cost my family money we could be saving or investing.



Of all of our grocery items, Greek Yogurt is one of my favorites. It is the most versatile ingredient in my kitchen. I use it to replace sour cream in everything, mashed Potatoes with a small amount of Greek Yogurt are fantastic!!  A few days ago I made a wonderful broccoli salad using Greek Yogurt and honey. I use it to make salad dressing and my husband mixes it with Sriracha and puts it on everything!! It goes in my morning protein shake and my son wants it with honey every morning for breakfast. What can't you use Greek Yogurt for? I don't think there is a better way to add a little good gut bacterium to your diet.



My little guy could be a Yogurt spokesperson!!

So, what is the problem?

 It's good for you, it's versatile, is there a problem?

 It is expensive. A quart of Greek Yogurt at Costco costs about $5. With the amount of yogurt we consume, we could easily spend $20 a month on yogurt, if not more. I can buy hamburger for the month, or a gym membership for the same price. And this isn't even organic!! I believe my beloved Greek Yogurt is worth that much, but why pay so much for something when you don't have to. A penny saved is a penny earned. With this recipe, I can fill 2 Costco containers of FAGE Greek Yogurt for about $3. Yes, you heard me, three dollars. One Gallon of milk will make a little more than 2 quarts of Greek Yogurt.

"I don't want to buy a special yogurt maker," you might say. That's good. Yogurt makers don't make enough yogurt to feed my family's yogurt habit for a day, much less a week. All you need is a good old fashioned crock pot, an oven and a couple of towels and you are on your way to thick, creamy, wonderful Greek Yogurt.

How to Make Greek Yogurt with a Gallon of Milk and a Crock Pot:
Here is what you need:

• One Gallon of Milk
• At least a 6 quart Crock Pot
• Thermometer - I use a digital thermometer that has an alarm on it
• 1 1/2 cups of starter yogurt ( I used FAGE Greek yogurt)
• Oven
• 2 Towels
• Very Large bowl
• Very Large Strainer
• Large piece of cheesecloth or muslin cloth (I use muslin because it's reusable and strains better)
• Spoon
• 2 one quart container to store your Greek Yogurt

1. Pour milk into crock pot.
2. Heat on high for 2 to 3 hours, until temperature reaches 175-180. This kills any bacteria in the milk and prevents the milk from forming curds.
3. Once milk reaches 175 to 180 degrees, turn off slow cooker, uncover and allow milk to cool to 115-110 degrees.
4. Once milk is cool, turn on you oven to lowest setting. Add your starter yogurt and stir all of the lumps out.
5. While you are stirring the yogurt, turn the crock pot back on high until the outside of the pot is hot to the touch.
6. Wrap your ceramic pot with lid in two large towels. I wrap one around it each way.
   
7. Turn off you oven and place the pot wrapped in towels in the oven.
   
8. Leave the pot in the oven for 12 hours. You may need to remove your oven rack.
   
9. After 12 hours, remove the pot, it should still be a little warm on the bottom. Whisk the yogurt to get the clumps out.
10. Put your strainer in your large bowl, line you strainer with muslin cloth and pour yogurt into strainer. Let it set for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. I usually let mine drain for several ours to get really thick yogurt
    
11. Take out 2 1/2 cups of yogurt and put in a container for a starter for your next batch. Label it accordingly so it doesn't get eaten.
    
    
    

    

    This is our bounty!! I turned 1 gallon of milk into
    2 quarts of Greek yogurt and enough whey to
    make another pie and feed my herb garden
    for a couple of weeks. I more than doubled my talents!!

    
    
12. Put yogurt into your containers for storage. I have three FAGE containers that I clean and reuse. That way I can make it and store it if we haven't finished one from a previous batch.
13. Enjoy your homemade Greek yogurt!!

I got these instructions from: Pounds for Pennies




Have any of you seen the new salad dressing trend? Fewer calories when you buy salad dressing made with Greek Yogurt!! Sometimes it costs over $4 a bottle. Here is a recipe from "Your Grocery Budget Toolbox" by Anne Simpson of Authentic Simplicity.

• 1 cup of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup of buttermilk (I make my own, 1/4 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, fill to 1/4 cup with milk. Let stand for 5 minutes.)
• 1 teaspoon of dried chives
• 1 teaspoon of dried dill
• 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix together in a bowl or blend in a blender(I like to use my magic bullet). Refrigerate several hours before serving. Use more milk for thinner dressing or less for a dip.

I also used some ricotta cheese from my mozzarella cheese
making experiments on this salad!!

 

Now that we've saved money on our Greek Yogurt, how else can we spend a little less frivolously? How can we be "faithful with few things?"

Thank You for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it and took something good away with you.

May your joy be full,

Rachel

19 “Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. 23 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."
Matthew 25:19-23



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