Behold! I have created yogurt.

I did it!

The last time I tried to make homemade yogurt I fouled it up. Three. Simple. Instructions. I couldn't make it happen. Needless to say I was very disappointed as I had waited to try this recipe for a long time. I think part of me knew I'd mess it up the first time. That's not out of the ordinary.

But not this time! This time I followed the directions without fail and was blessed with a crock pot full of homemade yogurt to enjoy in the morning! It tasted just like store-bought plain yogurt and was only slightly thinner. I added some local honey I had recently picked up and it was perfection. I am pleased. I can't wait to try it with the local organic whole milk I plan to buy at the farmer's market tomorrow. Ooooh..I just can't wait! I even tested it out on my 20 month old to see if I could replace the expensive commercial brand organic whole milk yogurt she eats every day and she liked it! I sweetened hers with a slice of canned peach and the pear juice it was canned in. It made it a little too watery and she totally rejected the diced peach pieces (what?!?), but she still ate the yogurt so I call it a win.

The best part is that this really couldn't be any easier to do. It utilizes the brilliance of a slow cooker and you know I like me some slow cookin'. I HIGHLY suggest you visit "A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures" and try out this recipe, or any of her other delicious recipes. I love being able to prep dinner early in the day and throw it in the slow cooker so the 5pm scramble is a little less, well.....scrambled. :O)

Enjoy!

All Martha'd out.

If I left the kitchen at all today, it was only to use the restroom or pick up a baby. Don't get me wrong, I love whipping up tasty food but I can barely keep my eyes open at this point.

Now you're probably expecting a lengthy list of holiday-type proportions but, alas, it was only 3 different items (6 if you count regular meals interspersed throughout the day). However, I did it all with 5 kids under the age of 7 running underfoot and a 6 month old puppy to take care of, so HA!!

But I digress. What I really wanted to tell you about tonight was the homemade cheez-its I tried from New Nostalgia . Holy snack crackers, Batman, these are fantastic!! Never mind that I couldn't keep a close enough eye on them near the end and I burnt some, or that I can't cut in a straight line to save my soul and ended up with wildly diverse trays of squares and rectangles.....they tasted just like the real thing, but better!

I don't know about you, but I have always found the originals to leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Not that it kept me from eating half a box in one sitting, but it irked me some. I don't want to really think about what makes the bitter aftertaste, I just want to focus on the fact that mine didn't have it.

Here's a few tips you can take from me if you decide to bake some of these delightful little crackers:

1. Watch that you don't forget the dough is chilling in the freezer while you save the puppy from choking to death on a sucker stick. I left it in there for an hour and then had to wait for some time for it to thaw enough to be roll-able.
2. Don't worry about separating your squares out once you cut them, they shrink while baking. I'm sure this may be common knowledge, but I rarely take any one's word on anything, so I did one tray where I separated them and one where I didn't. The only difference I noticed was how much easier it was to leave them as they were. 
3. The flatter you roll them, the crunchier they'll be. I did like them crunchy and chewy, as I had a range of both due to my lack of level rolling skills. However, the flatter they are, the more attention you have to pay to them near the end of their baking time as opposed to paying attention to why the 5 year old is screaming that the 19 month old accosted her with a baby drum (again!) and where in the world the 7 month old rolled off to. 

If I managed to get the bread I baked this morning to be how I like it, I'll post a link to that recipe as well. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go beat my head against a wall for messing up the homemade yogurt I've been waiting so long to make. Why should I remember the simple 3 part instructions after reading them only 27 times? This is why I always refer back to the recipe before I move on to the next step...well, almost always. Cheers!

Keeping it clean for less green.

My husband's most hated phrase at the moment is "In these tough economic times...". You can't watch more than 5 minutes of the news without hearing it and you can't peruse a newsstand without reading it. Everyone is looking to save as much of their hard-earned money as possible and more and more people are looking to "get back to basics"; making things themselves that they had purchased pre-made in the passed.

One of my favorite ways to save money is by making my own laundry detergent. Yes, you read that correctly! It's super easy, good for the environment, and it makes a ton. It's great for those with sensitive skin or sensitive noses. (My husband hates anything scented unless it smells like food.) It can be a little clumpy and therefore not as pretty as commercial laundry detergent but who cares! Personally, I don't think we should judge a cleaning product by it's appearance. ;-) It's low-sudsing and is good for High E machines I'm told. (I don't have one so I've never tried.) Here's how to do it:

5 Gallon Tub with lid and a stir stick (I got a tub from Home Depot and I use a paint stir stick to stir it with.)
3.1 oz bar Ivory Soap
1 C Borax
1/2 C Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
3 Gallons & 5 C water

Pour 5 C of water into a pot. (I bought an old one at a rummage sale to use just for this) Grate soap with a cheese grater and place in water. Bring the water to just shy of a boil and stir until completely melted. When soap is just about melted, pour 3 Gal. hot water into a 5 Gal. tub and let it sit until soap is totally melted. Once soap is all melted, pour mixture into 5 Gal. container and stir.
Once soap & water are thoroughly stirred, add Washing Soda and stir until dissolved. Then, pour in Borax and stir until dissolved.
*Optional: Drop in a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. (I did this once and, even though the detergent itself smelled great, you couldn't smell it on the clothes at all. If you want to smell it on the clothes, you would need to add more than a few drops I guess)
Cover the container and let it sit overnight. Stir before using. Use 1/2 C per load.
Yields 442oz, 4 oz/load = 110.5 loads.