Actually, some of the newer "instant" powdered milks taste pretty good.  However, the non-instant dry powdered milk is generally less expensive.  It's just not so great for drinking straight.  There's more on that in the printable.

The first couple recipes are below and the next blog post will have the others.  You can get all of them without waiting, plus some extra stuff, in a two-page printable format right here.  For even more great powdered milk recipes, download the Bee Prepared Pantry Cookbook or the Wooden Spoon class booklet (see here for corrections & notes for the Wooden Spoon booklet.)

Lasagne using powdered milk?  You bet!  You can make homemade cottage cheese in 5-10 minutes.  There's even a recipe for a mock mozzarella that melts beautifully, in the Bee Prepared book.

All cost estimates are based on paying $1.89/lb for powdered milk, which is the 2013 price at the LDS Church's 'Family Home Storage Center'.

Homemade Cottage Cheese- makes about 16 oz., $ 1.00/batch

4 c. hot water                                                                          6 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 ½  c. non-instant dry milk powder                                           ½   tsp. salt, to taste

            Stir together water and powdered milk in a saucepan, heat until it starts to steam, stirring.  Drip vinegar around the edge of the pan and gently stir; it will immediately start to separate into curds and whey.  If it doesn’t, heat it up some more.  Let rest one minute.  Pour into a cheesecloth-lined colander over a bowl. Save whey, then rinse with hot water, then with cold water and break apart into the size curds you want.  Rinse for one minute or until all the whey is out. Add salt. To make it creamy, add 4-6 Tbsp. sour cream, yogurt, evaporated milk, or cream.

  The whey may be used in place of liquid (milk or water) in baking.  It has vitamins, minerals, some protein, no fat, and some milk sugar (lactose- very low on the glycemic scale.)  Since it has the acidity of the vinegar in it, you can add a little baking soda to neutralize and get extra leavening power- use 1 tsp. baking soda per 2-3 cups of acid whey; reduce any baking powder by three times the amount:  if using 1 tsp. baking soda, the baking powder is reduced by 3 tsp.

Yogurt – makes 2 quarts of plain yogurt at $ .57 per quart if using your own starter
1 ¾ c. regular nonfat dry milk, or 3 c. instant                         7 c. hot water (not over 120 degrees)
1/3 c. plain yogurt, with active cultures

Combine dry milk and 4 cups of the water.  Whisk or mix in a blender.  Add yogurt and whisk.  Add remaining water or divide the remaining water evenly between your containers; stir well after adding the milk mixture!  Pour into containers, cover, and incubate in a warm place for 4-8 hours or until set.  Tip a container after 4 hours to see if it has set.  If the yogurt is still liquid, wait 1-2 more hours.  It will set up a little more when chilled.  Store in fridge.  The ideal temperature range for culturing yogurt is 105-120 degrees.  The lower of these temperatures you begin culturing at, the sweeter the yogurt will be.  The higher, the more tart. Above 120 degrees will kill the bacteria you’re trying to grow.  Save 1/3 c. for culturing your next batch.

To flavor your yogurt after it’s made, add fruit, jam, juice concentrate, chocolate milk mix, etc., before eating.

To flavor it before culturing, use 6-8 Tbsp. of sugar per 2-qt batch,  or 4-6 Tbsp. honey (dissolve this in your water first, or it will sink to the bottom), or a 3-oz. box of flavored gelatin, or 1/3-1/2 c. jam, or 1 c. chopped or mashed sweetened fruit. The syrup from canned fruit can be used in place of part of the water.  If it’s not sweet enough, you can always add sugar when it’s done.  1-2 tsp. vanilla added to the batch is also a nice addition.  Make your own combinations- chopped cherries with some vanilla and a little almond extract, blueberries with cream cheese added, toasted coconut with caramel sauce swirled in… let your imagination run wild!

To make firm yogurt that doesn’t become thin after stirring, use 4-6 tsp. unflavored gelatin, or two envelopes, per two-quart batch.  Soften it in part of the recipe’s water, then heat gently on stove, in microwave, or over hot water, until the gelatin melts.  Add along with remaining water.

Merry Christmas!

Here is a simple thing to make with your family- hot chocolate.  There are a few different ways to make it-  you can add chocolate syrup to milk, or you can melt a chocolate bar into milk, or you can make it the old-fashioned way, starting with unsweetened cocoa.  It’s really fast and easy.

May you have a wonderful Christmas, full of the spirit of love and of God.

-Rhonda

Homemade Hot Cocoa

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. sugar or honey
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt, ¼ tsp. vanilla, optional
 
Stir together the cocoa powder and sugar.  Stir in 2 Tbsp. milk, mix until smooth.  Bring to a boil, either on the stove or in a microwave.  This is to dissolve the sugar and bring out the flavor of the cocoa.   Stir in the remaining milk, the salt, and vanilla.  Heat to the temperature you like. Top with marshmallows or whipped cream if you have them.

This recipe can be sized up to whatever you like.  I usually make a 4-cup batch, using the microwave, and a canning jar for my cooking container.  

This makes a ‘milk chocolate’ flavor.  If you like it darker, use 1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp. cocoa.  If it’s bitter, add the same amount additional sugar.

 For mint chocolate, use whatever form of mint you have- mint extract, peppermint patties, or crushed candy canes.

For raspberry flavor, you can use 1 Tbsp. of raspberry Jello powder instead of the sugar.  Orange is another good flavor to make this way.

If you like richer cocoa, use whole milk, or a bit of cream, evaporated milk,  or half-and-half.   

To make it frothy, use a blender, or an immersion blender, to whip it.  This works especially well if you used powdered milk!
 

The cocoa and sugar, ready to be stirred.

Add as much milk as you have of the sugar and cocoa- in this case, 2 Tbsp.  You want to make a smooth, pancake-batter-consistency slurry.

Bring it to a boil to dissolve the sugar and 'bloom' (bring out the flavor of) the cocoa.  Once it's at this point, add the rest of the milk, along with salt and vanilla if you want them.