Summer's Here!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell that summer is definitely here? The lack of posts lately gives that away! So, I'll catch up a little here. I recently cut back my percentage at work, which has been heavenly!! I will work two 12 hour shifts and one 8 hour shift a week...it makes a huge difference...there for awhile I was working 4 days a week, which for someone who's aiming to be a stay-at-home mom that was complete torture!! Okay, I know currently I couldn't totally be a stay at home mom, but for the most part I want to be home raising my kiddo(s)! I never thought that would be such a strong desire for me before I became a mom. It was never even on my radar. I just thought I'd be a working mom and be fine with it...doing the professional thing and getting my master's degree in a couple years...working my way up the career ladder in nursing. B-L-E-H. That's about how desirable that sounds to me right now. Now, I'm all about finding a way to soak up and savor every last minute of my life with this incredibly fun, outrageously cute, kissable, bundle of love that wakes me up with giggles and baby babble every morning. Ohmigosh, she brightens my life! Such a bummer that she won't be 19 months old forever...

My other half has been out of town for the past week. Another indicator that summer is definitely here. He's been a working fool lately! God bless him for it...he really enjoys working, believe it or not. He typically has side-jobs that he tends to on the weekends, so even his days "off" are busy. When he's not working on someone else's house, he's working on ours...which is in desperate need of a paint job, I might add. He's getting home from Louisiana tomorrow morning sometime...and plans to start prepping our house for painting in the afternoon. I hope he realizes that I won't let it happen...the man needs a day of rest!!! He's funny though...when I tell him to sit down and take a load off, and maybe even take a nap, he'll relax about a 1/2 hour before he's all antsy and restless, telling me "well, better work in the yard before it rains" (even though there is no rain in the forecast for the next 3 days!) or "I should get out in the garage and organize some stuff". I just say, "Ok hunny, whatever floats your boat." That's my husband though...he's such a tinker-er...I guess it's one of the thousands of reasons why I love him. Well, that, and who doesn't love watching a handsome handy-man in a cut-off t-shirt and rugged camo shorts man handling a power washer? I mean, come on... ;)

As for Ava...well, she's just been doing her thing lately...learning the ropes of this world and being super cute while she's at it. ;) The girl gives me butterflies...and belly laughs...and I just wanna squeeeeeze her all day long! Sometimes I even try to...it's not well-received...apparently she doesn't realize that mothers like to squeeze their babies when they're as snuggable (I think I just made that word up) as she is....

My Favorite Cheeseball...

With all the posts about food lately, you probably thought my favorite cheeseball would be of the edible kind--well, not quite. And although sometimes I could just gobble her up...those chubby cheeks, rolly thighs, and fluffy buns and all...it just wouldn't be acceptable...plus, I would desperately miss her. :o)

So, here are some of my favorite shots of our little cheeseball....

She works hard to cheese-it....so hard, in fact, that her face becomes somewhat distorted by her efforts to show me her best cheeeeeese face ever.

This is a decent snapshot of what humidity does to this kiddo's hair...curly cutie.

"Here Mom!! This is a good one!! Take a picture of this cheeeeeese! Hurry! I can't....hold it....much....longer!!!"

Playing in the rain...stopped for a cheeese pose. Hey, we play in the rain when that's all we see for a week straight.

"See me, mom?! See me?? Cheeeeeeeeese!!"

The moments preceeding this picture went something like this, I picked up the camera to move it to the counter and Ava caught a glimpse of the camera and shouts, "Mom!...Mom!...Momma!...Momma!...Cheeeese!...Cheeeeeese!!!....CHEEEEEZ!" Girl loves the camera... ;o)

Now you see why I nearly gobble her up at every waking moment.

Ask and You Shall Receive ...

A slow, slow evening at work the other night gave some co-workers of mine and me a chance to sit around and talk about one of my all-time favorite topics....one that makes my neck get red & splotchy from my excitment...organic food. I love talking food with people...organic produce, recipes, homemade food, budgeting for organic food, growing a garden of food--any & all things food!! I get especially pumped when others get as excited as I do about cleaning out the cupboards and refrigerator and converting to an all-natural lifestyle. Stinkin' love it! It's even better when others understand the rationale for needing organic and natural food in your life. But that's an entire post in itself...and trust me, I will go there soon. Right after I finish the book Food, Inc. Actually, let me rephrase that...I don't believe that we need to eat everything organic...just food without the added hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, preservatives, and chemicals. And you better be able to pronounce every ingredient in that bottle or box of 'food'. There's plenty of food out there that doesn't contain these things and they're not necessarily 'organic'.  To my excitement, a few folks are asking me for recipes and ideas for healthy snacks for their families, and I've got quite a few to share! I thought I'd post the recipes on here for whomever wants them! And because I think food education is necessary these days, I'll try to occassionally post some food facts. Everybody will learn a valuable thing or two about the food in our lives by reading this blog. ;-)


Enjoy the recipes--let me know how they turn out or if you find others! You know I'm crazy about new recipes--especially for convenience foods that I can make at home!


Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread
The best part of this bread is the way it toasts. Wow! The cinnamon sugar crust on the outside gets all sweet & warm...slap some high-quality butter on a slice of this toast and you'll melt along with it.


Homemade Pizza Dough...the best ever.
I've tried a quite a few homemade pizza doughs in my day...this one tops them all. Not. even. kidding. Stromboli...calzone...pepperoni rolls...endless possibilities.
The Most Amazing Hamburger Buns
Who woulda thought? Homemade hamburger buns? Whip this dough together, let it rise once, and then wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for burger night. This brioche is nice and fluffy and slightly sweet. But not too sweet--I have a diabetic husband! Annie also has a honey wheat bun recipe that is currently sitting in my freezer...waiting for burger night. ;)

Homemade Granola Bars
Yield: About 10 bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup salted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped cranberries and the few leftover raisins from cinnamon raisin walnut bread :)

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oatmeal, almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ in a bowl and spread on sheet pan. Bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Lightly toasted is good. Remove from oven and decrease temperature to 300 degrees. Pour oatmeal mixture into a large bowl. Combine honey, brown sugar, and vanilla in small bowl and pour over warm oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle with salt and add dried fruit, stirring to evenly coat all ingredients with the honey mixture. Line sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease paper. Pour granola bar mixture onto sheet pan and distribute evenly. Press the mixture into the pan...firmly...quite a few times...you want these bars to stick together! Using plastic wrap to press on the mixture worked best for me. Place bars into oven (remember 300 degrees!) and bake for 25 minutes. Let bars cool for 2 hours before cutting. I used a heavy duty serrated knife to cut these. Turned out delicious! Sweet, salty, and slightly crunchy.







I know what you're thinking..."Yea, sounds good Liz...but not practical...I don't have time to make all this stuff!" Two questions I hear all the time are, "How do you do it?" and "Why do you do it?" Here's my best answer for "How?": Take one day every couple weeks and have a marathon of baking & making. You can freeze all this dough so you can use it whenever you're ready for it! You'll have the freshest, best-tasting, homemade goodies, and you'll have total control over the ingredients that you're putting into your little-ones bellies...and your own!

And the "Why?": Since I got serious about this natural lifestyle revamp...so, about 2 years ago now...my eyes have been opened to the real hidden world of food. I was a bit naive before I got into "fooding" and thought that, of course, the food on the store shelves is safe and "healthy" for consumers. Of course it is, right? Um, no. After much research into the organic food vs conventional food battle, I have learned that you really can't trust that the FDA is allowing only the safest food  onto the market. I'm not a political person...but when it comes to the food made available to us in supermarkets, it really is all politics...not safety...or nutrition. It comes down to money...power...and mass productions. Really...in all seriousness...watch the documentary Food, Inc and then tell me that you're okay with where our nation's food crisis stands. The politics behind the most basic substance of our existence are out-of-this-world-ridiculous. The obesity rate and climb in childhood neurological disorders in this country should tell us all something. Ooooh, but I'll save all this talk for another post! :) I'll just say that what we don't know about our food does hurt us! Whether we are willing to acknowlege it or not! Anyway, another answer to "Why?" is that making your own simple convenience foods will save you tons of money! I have cut back our grocery bill by a lot...and I'm almost a little embarrased to say by how much...I spend about 40% less nowadays (that's ballpark--I should figure it out for real)!! Gah!!! Think about it...a good, healthy loaf of bread at the grocery store will cost you $2.49-$4.99 (just what I've seen). Making it at home...with all natural or organic ingredients...all of which you can pronounce...will cost pennies. Sure getting started with the ingredients costs more...but you can make like 10 loaves (or something crazy like that) from those ingredients. Now, it's all about time management & organization...and really, time is not the real issue...we make time for the things that are important to us. It's just about figuring out if a natural lifestyle is important to you!

Ohmigosh!!!

I just came across the ultimate whole wheat bread recipe and it is so aah-mazing that I had to jump on here and share this awesome recipe!!! Okay, so, a few people have hit me up lately asking for good bread recipes and this one tops any and all that I've ever made. This is the only wheat bread recipe I will ever use again! I have a bread maker and have been trying the wheat bread recipes that came with the machine up until now. They have been okay, but I was searching for something I can use as an everyday bread for sandwiches, toast, etc. The bread maker is good for some types of bread, but not for an everyday bread in my opinion. For one thing, the bread pan is one size and the larger of a loaf you make, the taller the bread gets...which is not so good for an everyday bread...it needs to be longer like the loaves you buy at the store...know what I mean? Plus, I wanted a dough that I could keep on hand at all times and be able to freeze so I can use it anytime I needed it. Well folks, I just found it...light, fluffy, wholesome, moist, slightly nutty (strangely there are not nuts in the recipe), and straight-up dreamy... mmm mmmmm. Try it. You'll fall in love, too.

Look at these golden loaves! Seriously delicious...and we're kind of picky bread people around here. ;)

Slices like a butter with just a serrated knife and holds up to a hearty chicken salad sandwich. Holy wheat bread it's incredible...

Whole-Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye

Yield: two 9-inch loaves

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups warm water (about 100°)

1 ½ tbsp. instant yeast

¼ cup honey

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 ½ tsp. salt

¼ cup rye flour

½ cup toasted wheat germ

3 cups whole-wheat flour

2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey, butter and salt with a rubber spatula. Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup of each of the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours.

2. Add the remaining whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, attach the dough hook and knead at low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead just long enough to make sure that the dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. Heat the oven to 375°. Gently press down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Gently press each piece into a rectangle about 1-inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side of the dough facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing down to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place each cylinder of dough into a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, seam-side down, pressing the dough gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover the shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim reads 205°, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to a wire rack; cool to room temperature.

If you're mixing this dough by hand, like I did (it's so easy, don't freak :), combine the water, yeast, honey, butter, salt, rye flour, and wheat germ. Add 2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour and 2 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour to mixture and reserve the last 1/4 cup of wheat flour for dusting and adding to mixture once ready to knead. Knead the dough on a flat surface sprinkled with flour for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, but no more than the 1/4 cup you reserved of the wheat flour. Continue to step #3.
Source: Brown-Eyed Baker

Crazy Apes!

Ava & I visited the Columbus Zoo this morning with my friend Christy. We love, love, loooove the Zoo...Christy & I that is! Especially the Columbus Zoo...it's seriously one of the best zoos ever...in Ohio at least! And just 10 minutes down the road from our house! Ava will soon learn to love the zoo too, I'm sure! Today, she was kind of like...hmmm, what's all the hype about guys...I can't even see half the animals you're pointing out...and to me they all look like big "Orsha's"! We packed some food for a picnic lunch and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for our zoo trip...65-72 degrees and sunny. Christy & I both bought zoo passes today...so there will be many more trips this year. Can't wait for Zoombezi Bay to open!

Sweet Pea--all ready to go in Big Red!

I took like 4 million pictures, so I tried to narrow them down on here. ;o)

The Zoo's newest baby elephant! Shoot...can't remember his name though.

Ava, that's a mighty big rhino behind you!!

Checking out the flying foxes with Christy...I was waiting for her to say 'Batman!' because that's our babysitter's son's favorite super hero and she hears alllll about him! She actually said "batman" last week...sheesh, and here I thought she'd say princess first or something. ;o)

This lion(ess?) was roaring so loud it actually made my chest vibrate! She (or he? but I thought the females were mane-less like this one...but anywhoo.) was fiesty today! You can't tell by the picture...but believe me...

Christy & Ava

Checking out the fishies...she had more fun climbing up and tapping the glass than actually looking at the fish, I think. I know...bad mommy...don't let your child tap on the glass...

A baby gibbon! This lil guy was so cute! The zoo is filled with babies in spring!

Ah-hem...not your best side my buddy gorilla....this is kinda gross, but she's actually eating her vomit out of her hand. I know, I know, "Whhyyyy Liz, are you sharing that!?" Sorry...but I thought it was interesting...kinda.

Now, this guy is buff!!!! And he was fiesty as well!! He sat really close to the glass and stared at us for awhile and then took off past us and swatted the glass right where we were standing. Freaky!!! And No, my daughter was not tapping on the glass...but she might've been giving him googly eyes. I actually think he had the hots for Christy. ;)

You look a little bored big lady...and I mean "big lady" with all due respect. :o)

What a life...lounging in her hammock. I love gorillas, apes, monkeys--all of 'em!! But especially gorillas...they are absolutely fascinating...so human-like...even their facial expressions...and the way they reach down and scratch their knee....or pick their nose and eat their boogers....it's just unreal!! I would die to be the next Jane Goodall. What a lucky woman... study apes all day? I'd do it in a heart beat! :) Christy and I decided that one day we should come to the zoo and park our booties on a bench right in front of the gorilla cage. It would be so entertaining...

That's the World's Stinkiest Flower sculpture that Ava's sitting upon. She enjoyed it...even if she did smell like a cross between dirty socks and a stinky skunk when she got off of it.

If you haven't been to the zoo this year I highly recommend putting it on your to-do list!!! The place is fantastic! The new polar bear exhibit opens May 6th, and it looks like it's going to be awesome! And call me up when you go...cause we would looove to join you!

18 Months of Pure Bliss!!

Ava-cakes is 18 months old already! She has never been more fun than she is right now. Gosh, I wish time would just stand still so I can soak up every last bit of her! She's talking, running, jumping, following directions, pretending, and changing before our very own eyes everyday.

Ava's word bank is huge! She says about 30+ words (of course we've counted!) including...daddy, mommy, kitty, bye, hi, hot, cup, dink (drink), cheese (her favorite!), cacka (cracker), orsh (portia), bobble (bottle), gah (gone), boo-boo, shoes, and many, many more that I can't recall at this very moment. She shakes her head "no" when she doesn't want something and is catching onto nodding her head "yes" when she does want something. Too cute...

She knows every part of her body and points to it when you ask her too--even her teeth! She follows directions really well...ahem--so far. :) I'll say, "take this to daddy please" or "throw that away please" and sure enough, she does it! She's started to associate things with us as well, such as daddy's clothes, mommy's purse, etc. I was folding clothes today and I was hanging one of Eric's shirts up and Ava pointed at the shirt and said, "dats daddys." So cool to see her thinking and putting concepts together. When we get ready to leave the house, she grabs her little purse, puts it on her shoulder, and says "bye keety, bye keety" and waves bye-bye to the kitty. Her and that sweet little voice of hers makes me just wanna gobble her up!! She had her 18 month checkup this week and our little heifer weighs 27 lbs and is 33 inches tall. Dr. Brown seemed pretty pleased with her development and told us to take in all that we can of her at this stage because it goes by so fast..not that we haven't noticed that already! He said she would probably catch onto potty training really quickly, so we could start trying that out if we wanted. Our baby is nearly a full fledged toddler...it won't be long before she's talking in sentences and telling us what she wants! Hmmm...makes me almost ready to fill this house with another tiny one! I said, almost ready... ;o)

She loves berries and cheese (like, with every square inch of her heart!), having lunch outside, wearing mommy & daddy's shoes around the house, just being outside--rain or shine!, playing with other kids, going on walks with "orsh", trying to dress herself (and undress herself!), running around the house half nakie, dancing! (usually half nakie!), looking for airplanes, and rough-housing with her daddy--matter of fact, she likes anything that revolves around her daddy. She's in love with him. Head. Over. Heels. It's a very interesting phenomenon. They dance together, romp around together, eat kettle-style popcorn together, tinker in the garage together, and she steals piggy-back rides from him at every opportunity...it's unbelievable. They have become best buddies. We can't walk through the garage to the car without Ava pointing to daddy's 4 wheeler and saying, "daddys," and when I load the dishwasher and she sees his favorite cup that he always drinks out of, again she says, "daddys." And when he comes home from work--oooooohhhh, it's all over...mama's immediately chopped liver! Haha! I love seeing those two together...I hope they always stay so sweetly close.

Really...you just gotta love her... in all her ornery glory.

Yummo! Tuna salad sandwich dipped in yogurt! Eww. She dips everything in yogurt!

Ava and "Orsh"

On airplane watch! She looooves looking for airplanes!

There it is!!

She loves getting under our covers on our bed...and brushing her teeth in our bed. :)

Gotta try out the foot of the bed, too!

2 Years and Counting!!

Eric & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last Monday. It's been an eventful 2 years filled with some of the best memories of my entire life!! I spent the entire day just thinking about that day 2 years ago when we anxiously, yet peacefully, exchanged our vows and started a new chapter--well, more like a new series in our life together. I really can't even put in words how much I appreciate Eric & I's relationship and am proud of our dedication to our marriage. We learn new relationship skills everyday it seems. Times get a little tricky now and then, especially while trying to juggle parenting, working, and our social lives, but God knows I love this journey we're on. Bring on 50 more years!!! :~)

Let's take a little trip down memory lane....Ahhh, I loved that April 12th day in 2008!

Now, for our anniversary, a couple of real sweet Baldner's insisted on--no wait--they down-right demanded that they watch our daughter for a few hours while we went to dinner. I would say that we hesitated a moment at their offer, but we more or less pummeled it--like a lion on its prey--the offer went up in the air and we jumped on it at lightning speed!! You must be thinking, "Wow Liz. That eager to give up your daughter for an evening, huh?" And my quick response is, "You betcha!" Sometimes, I'd do anything for a babyless dinner date with my husband...just a nice glass of Pinot...relaxing...the dim lighting and savory aromas coming from the kitchen just put me in a warm & fuzzy state of mind. A state of mind where I'm not worried about picking up utensils off the floor that my daughter has thrown there, or dodging mashed potatoes as she flings them through the air, or hushing her as she belts out a shrill, hair-raising squeal. Just peace and quiet with my husband and the relaxing effects of wine...a big glass...or two. :)

We started the evening with some good ol Red Stripe...in honor of Jamaica, where we went on our honeymoon. And although I wasn't able to thoroughly enjoy Red Stripe while we were in Jamaica...since I happened to be growing this little thing called a fetus in my belly...I decided we should have some on our anniversary...you know, for honor's sake. :)

We went to one of our favorite restaurants ever...Columbus Fish Market. The best Cedar Plank Salmon my taste buds have ever met.

And wouldn't you know, they gave me a rose at the end of dinner because we were celebrating our anniversary. See--I knew I loved that place. :)

And where else would we finish off our evening!?!? Lowe's! We were babyless people! Of course we were gonna hit up Lowe's and take our time browsing around thinking up ideas for the house. We even came home with a "Do-It-Yourself" book. :)

And just as a reminder hunny--There's no turning back now!!! heeeehehehe!

Click Here for a Smile !!

She's the best thing ever...

Quad Madness!!

Eric took a trip to Kentucky this weekend on a 4-wheeling trip with the fellas. Aaaand he only took 4 pictures...what's with that!? Such a boy. :) Actually, I was quite worried about our lil red camera and the journey it faced...first of all--Eric was the handler (yikes!), second of all--Eric was riding a dirty, muddy, 4 wheeler on bumpy trails (ahhh!). I was just happy that everyone and everything came home in the same condition that they left in!! He had a lot of fun....there were 16 guys total with their quads....need I say more? Their weekend was filled with loads of dirt, mud, dusty trails, beer, very little sleep, and other stuff that guys find to be fun...like watching wrestling. Speaking of very little sleep, Eric's in bed as I type...out cold. Bless his heart...

Umm...yes...that is a lady mannequin...don't ask me?

A Newly Discovered Favorite...

I've had the urge lately to try my hand at homemade yogurt making. It sounded so easy, economical, and homemade is always better, right!? Well, yogurt is no exception...homemade yogurt is the bomb!! My family goes through what seems like gallons of yogurt each week. While Eric isn't a huge yogurt fan, I love, love, love Stonyfield Farms yogurt in every variety, and Ava is hooked on Stonyfield Farms YoBaby or YoKids. The stuff is amazing...and Yoplait offers absolutely no comparison...even my once favorite thick-n-creamy custard style Yoplait doesn't even come close to the smooth, pure-tasting, creamy, organic bliss that Stonyfield offers. When I took a look at the ingredients list on the back of my Stonyfield yogurt container, all that was listed was organic low fat milk, pectin, and vitamin D. That's it. How simple...I like simple. So, I thought--hey, let me just do a little research and see how complicated of a process this might be, and to my giddy astonishment...it's so stinkin' easy. Even easier than making my own babyfood! :) I am hooked. The best part here is the money I'll save by making my own yogurt....check this out:

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt--Usually $0.99 per container which is 6 ounces--so I'll just say $1/container. I buy at least 6 containers (36 ounces) of these every week. My favorite math teacher Mr. Shaffer taught me that this would equal $6/ week (about $25/month)

Stonyfield Farms YoBaby--About $3.79/ 6-pack (4 ounce containers). At least one 6-pack (24 ounces) of these a week...usually more though. So, about $15-$20/ week.

Add them up and we consume about 240 ounces of yogurt/ month and I'm spending about $40-$45/ month on organic yogurt!!

Making my own:
Organic Whole Milk: $2.79/ quart (that's 32 ounces)
Organic Powdered Milk: $6.49 (the lifetime of this bag of powdered milk will vary depending on whether or not I use it each time for my yogurt--it's kind of an optional item, so this bag should last me a really long time.)
One container of Stonyfield Farm yogurt--$0.99 (this was a one time purchase to use as a starter for my homemade yogurt, but now I have my own yogurt to use as a starter for my next batch)
Organic wildflower honey--$3.99.

So, the math tells us that 240 ounces divided by 32 ....oh, never mind, I'll just cut to the chase....making my own yogurt will cost me roughly $20-$25/ month!  An all around win... 50% savings...all-organic...economical...delicious...and all the flavor combos I can create. I saw a goji berry mix at Whole Foods today that would be so yummy pureed & thrown in this homemade yogurt.

Now, onto the meat & potatoes of this post....

Homemade Yogurt How-To

1 Quart (4 Cups) Fresh, Organic Whole Milk
2/3 Cup Powdered Milk
1/2 Cup Fresh Organic Yogurt with active cultures (most yogurts have active cultures)

A couple notes:
*You can use 2%, 1%, or skim milk if you wanted to. I used whole milk because I want thick & creamy yogurt and until I am an 'professional' yogurt maker, I figured full fat milk would yield best results--which it has! I'll try a low-fat milk next time and see how it goes.
*The powdered milk isn't necessarily needed--you can make yogurt without it--but if you're using a lower-fat milk the yogurt tends to be runnier and the powered milk helps thicken it up a bit.
*The organic yogurt is just a one time purchase--you need the yogurt to use as a starter to get the bacteria in the milk which develops the yogurt. After you make a batch then you'll have your own yogurt to use as a starter for subsequent batches.

3 Simple Ingredients.

First, heat the milk and powdered milk in a 2 qt saucepan, until it reaches 180*, stirring frequently to avoid scorching--you definitely want to avoid scorching and boiling. This picture clearly is not showing what I described above, but rather Step 2, which is to place the saucepan in a sink of cold water to bring the temperature down to about 110*. You don't have to put it in cold water, you could just let the milk sit at room temperature and wait for the temperature to fall to 110*...but that method is for patient folks. :)

Once the milk is cooled to 110*, pour the milk into a glass quart jar--I have plenty of them around from canning. You want to make sure the jar is sterilized to assure the bacteria in the jar won't interfere with the bacteria that will be producing the enzymes that turn the milk into yogurt--thankfully my dishwasher took care of that step for me. Then wrap some towels around your quart jar--this will provide insulation and help keep your milk at 110* for the next 6-8 hours. Place your wrapped up quart jar in the oven with the light turned on. The oven doesn't need to be turned on, just have the oven light on and that will provide enough warmth to help keep the milk at 110* for the incubation period. Really, 6 hours in my oven and my yogurt was perfect--if you like really tart plain yogurt then let it incubate longer. I stayed close to the 6 hour mark because I don't like my yogurt too tart.

And here she is...in all her delicious, smooth, creamy glory...Homemade Yogurt!!! Sooo good! Just stick this puppy in the back of the fridge so it's nice & cold in the morning. Wake up...scoop out...sprinkle berries...gobble up. Easy as that.

Now, these two paired together = one seriously yummy concoction! I also have TONS of strawberry freezer jam left in my freezer from last summer that I plan on stirring into my yogurt. It will add a sweetness better than any plain sugar can offer. Now THAT will be good--I can hardly wait til morning. :)

I highly recommend giving homemade yogurt making a try! It's so easy, seriously, there are a million different ways to make yogurt and there's so much experimenting you can do to get exactly what you're looking for. Do some browsing of the web, like I did, and I'm sure you'll get sucked into the ease of making yogurt. It's as easy as warming milk and letting it sit for 6 hours, really. Plus, you cut down on environmental waste by using your own glass jars. Love it.