Homemade Greek Yogurt...SUCCESS!!

     So Tuesday (the 6th) I found a site that showed how I could make Greek yogurt at home!  Now, I HATE yogurt, even the smell!!  *Gagging*  However, I don't mind cooking/baking with it.  Oh, and I LOVE fro-yo!!  A couple of my best friends made it for Aaron and I one night.  I was VERY leery!  O.o  He had fresh strawberries, kiwis and mandarin oranges to go on it.  I was in LOVE!!  <3  I came home and the next day I went to buy the stuff to make some at my house.  I went into sticker shock!!  Greek yogurt must think it's equatable to GOLD!!  I bought enough to make for my family of 8 and it was over $20 to make a single batch!!  Sadly I haven't made it again.  :(
     So anyways, I found this recipe and I had everything I needed except the single serving of Greek yogurt.  (I could handle paying $1 for this one!  LOL)  So here's how I did it!  (I even have pictures!)

Ingredients:
1 Gallon WHOLE milk
3 Cups Dry milk
1/2 Cup (or single serving size cup) Greek yogurt PLAIN

Equipment:
LARGE crockpot
Thermometer that reads over 180
Jars (Mason/old spaghetti jars/etc)

1. Pour the gallon of milk into the crock pot, turn it on HIGH.  I added the powdered milk to it when it was cold and it took FOREVER to dissolve.  Next time I will wait until  the milk is warmer!  The powdered milk is simply there to add proteins and help thicken the yogurt.  Heat the milk to 180 degrees.  
2. Then turn off the crock pot.  I actually took the pot out and sat it on the counter to help it cool down.  You want it between 95-115 degrees.
3. Once its temperature is in that range, take some of the milk and add it to your yogurt in a separate bowl until combine.  (This helps temper it.)  Add the yogurt to the milk.
4. Once it's been mixed in, pour the mixture into your jars.  ( I used 6 "Pint & Half" wide mouth jars)  I sat the lids on the top to prevent anything from falling in...I did NOT screw the rings on.
5. Place in the oven with only the light on for 8-10 hours to allow the cultures to do their work.  I put mine in at 9:00 pm and they were all thick and yogurty at 6:00 am.  
6. Tighten the lids down and chill before using.

*Should be thick enough that draining is not necessary.

                                           

                                          

                                         

     Now you can add any flavorings if you wish...like vanilla or honey.  Zackary wants me to try and make the key lime version.  I'll add some sugar to a couple of the jars with vanilla extract then the kids can make parfaits!  :)

*The Greek yogurt adds/grows all the healthy bacteria our bodies need.  By bringing the milk to 180 degrees it kills all the bacteria in the milk, which in some cases I guess is a good thing.  Fortunately the yogurt puts the good stuff back in!

**I bought my milk at Aldi's for $2.49 and I already have powdered milk in my food storage.  I bought the yogurt at WalMart for $1.  By this morning I had 1 gallon of Greek yogurt for $3.50!  I seriously saved over $20!!