Quick Soft Pressed Cheese

2 cups boiling water
1-1/2 cups dry milk powder
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3-4 Tbsps lemon juice
Cheese coloring tablets (optional)

Blend water, milk and oil, allowing foam to settle slightly. If colored cheese is desired, add 1/2 tablet cheese coloring (or cake decorating paste color) while blending. Pour into hot saucepan coated with a nonstick spray and heat to at least 160 degrees. Add lemon juice and continue to stir until mix curdles.

Pour into a cheesecloth lined colander. Rinse curds with warm water, then salt to taste. Place cheese in cloth between two plates or spoon into a cheese press. Apply weight and let sit for 1/2 hour or longer, depending on how firm you want the cheese to be. Remove from plates or cheese press,rinse, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Use within one month or freeze. This cheese can be sliced, grated, or crumbled. For Smoky Cheese, add 1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke flavoring and 1/2 - 1 tsp. salt after rinsing curds.



Soft Cottage Cheese

2 c hot water
1 1/2 c dry milk powder
3 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice or white vinegar

Blend water and dry milk and pour into saucepan (foam and all). Sprinkle lemon juice or vinegar slowly around edges and gently stir over medium heat just until milk begins to curdle. separating into curds and whey. Remove from heat and let rest one minute. Pour into strainer or colander, rinse with hot, then cold water. Press out water with back of spoon. Makes about 1- 1/2 cup curds. If desired, moisten rinsed curds with a little buttermilk before serving and add salt to taste. Refrigerate if not used immediately. Whey from fresh milk powder can be used in place of water in breads and soups.


Protein Shake
1/2 cup of cottage cheese (see recipe above)
1 c frozen fruit
3 T ground flax seed
1 c water
4 ice cubes
Sweeten to taste
2 T chopped nuts

Put everything in the blender except chopped nuts and blend. Stir in chopped nuts and enjoy.



Cheese Ball using Cottage Cheese (see recipe above)
4 c well drained cottage cheese (the longer you drain, the drier it becomes)
2 c grated cheese (I used quite sharp cheese)
1 c real bacon bits
2 T onion powder
2 T dried parsley
2 T garlic
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 c chopped pecans

Makes 2 cheese balls
Mix ingredients well, divide in half, roll in pecans if desired. Wrap securely in plastic wrap and let chill for several hours before using.



Basic Yogurt

4 c water
1 c powdered milk
1/2 c plain yogurt or a packet of freeze dried yogurt powder*

Stir the water and powdered milk until dissolved. Heat to 110 degrees, add the yogurt and stir well. Pour into pint jars and incubate using desired method.

Serving Suggestions: Serve with fresh fruit and/or granola.

Heating pad method: Place a towel over the hot pad and put on medium heat. Place jars on top and cover with another towel. I also tried this by placing a pot on the stove and heating the water to 110 degrees. Then I placed the pot on top of the heating pad and placed the pint jars inside and put the lid on and checked it 4 hours later and yogurt was firm.

Cooler method: Heat 3 quarts water to almost boiling or in the microwave for 6 minutes and place in a cooler. Place the pint jars around the jars and let incubate for 4 hours.

Oven method: Every attempt I have ever made to make yogurt in the oven has never worked for me, so let me know if any of you figure out how to make this work.

Hot/cold Method: The principle is the same as the cooler method. Heat 3 quarts of water to almost boiling. Place in the back of the hot/cold bag and place 3 pints or 6 1/2 pint jars with the yogurt around them. Fold up a large beach towel and place at the end. Snap shut. Check yogurt in 4 hours. If not firm enough, reheat the water and let stand a few more hours.

Yogurt Maker Method: Yogurt Makers work great and I used one for many years, but it finally quit working.




Basic Yogurt Cheese

Simply pour Basic Yogurt into a cheese bag and let drain for an hour or two. A thicker consistency than ordinary yogurt is obtained by draining off the excess water. This drained yogurt can be used in recipes for dips, spreads, sauces, and dressings. This is perhaps the simplest cream cheese method. The result is tangy and delicious.

Alternate method for Basic Yogurt Cream Cheese

Dump a quart of Basic Yogurt into strainer lined with paper towels or cheese cloth. Let sit and drain overnight. If tangy flavor is desired, leave out of refrigerator, if sweeter flavor is desired, leave in refrigerator to drain.




Basic Yogurt Lemon Cream Cheesecake

Filling:
12 oz. basic yogurt cream cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c sugar

Topping:
1 c sour cream
1 T grated lemon rind
1 T sugar

Vanilla Wafer or Graham Cracker Crusts:
1 c vanilla wafer crumbs
1 T sugar
2 T melted butter
pinch of salt

Crust: Mix ingredients until butter is absorbed ; place crumbs in round 9 inch baking pan and spread in even layer.

Filling: Blend Basic Yogurt Cream Cheese and lemon juice thoroughly. Add eggs and sugar and beat until smooth. Pour into vanilla wafer or graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes, then spread with topping.

Topping: Mix topping ingredients and pour oer pie filling. Bake 10 minutes longer. Cool. Chill in refrigerator 5 hours before serving.



Cottage Cheese

To make your own delicious and nutritious Basic Cottage Cheese, use the easy directions which follow. This recipe utilized rennet or Junket tablets (usually found next to the jello) to help produce low-acid cottage cheese with minimal effort:

1 rennet tablet (or Junket tablet)
1 pt. buttermilk or Basic Yogurt
1 gallon Basic Rehydrated Powdered Milk.

Dissolve rennet tablet in warm water. Pour Basic Rehydrated Powdered Milk into a large heavy pot and heat to 90 degrees F. Add buttermilk or Basic Yogurt, stirring to mix. Add dissolved rennet. Cover pot and leave overnight in a warm place. The next day, a gelatinous, almost solid mass, like firm yogurt, has formed in the pot. This is the curd. With a silver knife, cut through this curd to break it into small pieces. Place pot on top of a large cake pan so you can pour the water around it. (This is what I found works best) Shake the pot gently while it is being heated to help distribute the heat more evenly throughout the curd. When the curd temperature reaches 110 degrees F, turn off the heat, leaving the cheese bowl in the water for about 30 minutes. Then pour the cheese into a cloth bag (I used a pillow case) or several layers of cheesecloth and hang it up to drain. When the curds have drained, mash the cheese with a form, work in a little sweet or sour cream if you used skim milk, or moisten it with a little basic Yogurt if you don't want the extra fat. You now have a delicious Basic Cottage Cheese!




Cheese Filled Jumbo Shells

1 package 12 oz San Giorgio Jumbo Shells, uncooked
4 c basic cottage cheese (see recipe above)
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 t dried oregano leaves
1/4 t ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 T fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 t salt
3 c spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Combine cheeses, eggs, and spices. In 13 X 9 inch baking dish, spread 1/2 c sauce. Fill each cooked shell with about 2 T cheese mixture. The easiest way to do this is to place cheese mixture inside a ziploc bag, cut a tiny hole in one corner and use like a pastry bag to fill the shells. Layer one-half filled shells in prepared baking dish; spread one-half remaining sauce over shells. Layer remaining filled shells over sauce, spread remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Cover with foil. Bake 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 8-10 servings.




Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 c water
1 c sugar
3 T butter
1 c powdered milk

Heat water, sugar and butter until boiling. Allow to cool slightly. Pour into a blender and gradually add the powdered milk, through the hole at the top. Blend until smooth. Can store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks, makes slightly more than one can of sweetened condensed milk.




Key Lime Pie

1 c water
2 c sugar
6 T butter
2 c powdered milk
1/3 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c lime juice
Optional: 1 T lime zest

2-9 inch graham cracker crusts

Boil water, sugar and butter together. Let cool 15 minutes. Pour into a blender. Gradually add the powdered milk a very little at a time and blend until smooth. Let cool for 15-30 minutes in blender.

Add the sugar and blend for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs and blend another 2 minutes. Finally, add the lime juice and blend 2 more minutes. Pour into the graham cracker pie crusts. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on oven. Cool, chill and serve with whipping cream.



Bercher Muesli

2 c oatmeal
1 c milk
2 c yogurt
2 chopped apples
1 c blueberries or desired fruit
1 c chopped strawberries or 1 c raspberries
1 c chopped nuts
1 c coconut (optional)
Juice of 2 lemons
Sweeten to taste (I use stevia)

Pour milk over oatmeal and let sit while you chop up the fruit. Add remaining ingredients. Feel free to use whichever fruit you prefer. This stays good for at least one week and is a great snack for kids after school.

Source: Lori Dunford

I LIKE it ! Thanks for the recipes. Will try sometime soon.