You will not believe how good this "milk"shake is!

I'm not kidding!  I made this for dessert tonight and my husband agrees.  No milk, no sugar, and delicious! 

Chocolate Banana "Milkshake"

1 handful of raw almonds
1 banana
2 T cocoa powder
1 handful of dried, pitted dates
1 1/2 cups of water
ice, as desired

Put it all in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into 2 glasses.  Enjoy!
(Serves 2)

It actually tastes like a real milkshake! 

Is it considered "pigging out" if it's on vegetables?

I love roasted vegetables.  They are delicious!  A friend loaned me this cookbook and I tried the Asian Roasted Broccoli recipe and I pretty much ate the whole thing.  Yeah, I pigged out......on broccoli! 

Asian-Style Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of broccoli (1 medium head, cut into florets)
2 cloves garlic
1 medium shallot
1 T peeled and chopped fresh ginger
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T tamari or reduced sodium soy sauce
freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, mix the broccoli with the garlic, shallot, ginger, oil, and tamari and season with the pepper to taste.  Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until the florets are tender but still bright green, about 20 minutes.  Serve hot or at room temperature.


Since we're on the topic of roasted veggies, I also LOVE this recipe for Curry Roasted Cauliflower.  (I made it today as well and pigged out on it too!)

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil  (I don't measure.  Just drizzle it on!)
curry powder (Spinkle as much as you want on top.  I use a LOT.)
salt (to taste)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix everything in a bowl and put it on a cookie sheet.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Delicious!

A Yummy, No-Grain Supper

When you're on a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free (and lately grain-free) diet, people always ask:  "What's left to eat?"  Well, here is one meal idea for supper.

• Grass-fed Ribeye steak (I use my friend Dot's recipe on her blog.  It's so delicious, I only cook steak this way these days!)
• sauteed mushrooms
• green salad with homemade dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh herbs, and salt)
• Mockarita  (scroll down to bottom of page)

Leave off the mushrooms, and you've got a yeast-connection-diet-friendly meal too.
Happy eating!

Breakfast fit for a queen

I love a good weekend breakfast!  Unfortunately, I can't have things like pancakes, waffles, bacon, etc.  so I have to improvise.  Here is something I put together yesterday morning (Saturday) and it was truly delicious and seemed decadent. 

Bacon Alternative:  I cannot eat bacon and other processed meats because the nitrates they use to preserve them give me serious migraines.  (My uncle was the one who told me about this because he gets these too.  Does anyone else have this problem?)  I have found nitrate-free bacon, but there is always sugar in it!  I guess the sugar takes the place of the nitrates to preserve it?  Anyway, it's a rock and a hard place situation.  Until now!

Did you know you can fry up prosciutto and it gets crisp just like bacon?  Okay, so it's not quite as tasty, but it's a close second!  They don't put the preservatives in prosciutto like they do with bacon.  (Not sure why.  Anyone?)  The ingredients listed were just "pork, salt, and spices".

Fried eggs:  I use real eggs from grass-fed, truly free-range, organic, chickens.  This makes all the difference!  Yum.

Butternut squash hash:  I took some leftover roasted butternut squash, cut it up, topped in with chopped pecans and a bit more cinnamon and butter, and baked it for about 10 minutes or so.  This made a perfect, sweet companion to my eggs and "bacon".

Chai with coconut milk:  Need I say more?

There you have it.  A great breakfast that royalty would envy! 

Who knew butternut squash was so delicious?

Oh, butternut squash, where have you been all my life?  I happened upon this recipe in the Candida Control Cookbook and it happens to fit into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet too.  It is sweet enough to be dessert!  The taste reminds me of a cross between pumpkin and sweet potatoes.  I suppose you could substitute butternut squash for the sweet potatoes when making casserole for a low-carb version.  Also, I've made "pumpkin pie" with butternut squash instead of pumpkin and it tastes almost identical!

Treat yourself to this yummy, healthy dessert!

Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash
cinnamon to taste
butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Wash, dry, and cut squash length-wise.  Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.

SO easy and you won't believe how delicious it is!  (...and I usually don't even like squash!)
    

Thai Yum Yum Soup!

Thai lemon grass soup is one of my favorite things!  It's called "Tom Yum" soup, but I call it "Yum Yum" soup.  Here is the recipe I use:

Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients:
2 pounds raw shrimp
1 Tablespoon oil (sesame works well)
8 cups hot water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 stalks lemon grass (or 4 strips lemon rind, thinly peeled)
4 lemon or other citrus leaves (if you can find them)
2 or 3 fresh whole chilies
1 Tablespoon fish sauce (You buy it bottled.  Sometimes, I leave this ingredient out and it still tastes delicious.)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
1 fresh chili, seeded and sliced
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
4 green onions, chopped
sliced mushrooms (1 package)

Directions:
Shell and de-vein shrimp.  Wash shrimp heads well, drain thoroughly.  Heat oil in a saucepan and fry heads and shells of shrimp until they turn pink.  Add hot water, salt, lemon grass, citrus leaves, and whole chilies.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Strain stock, return to a boil, add mushrooms and shrimp and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked.  Add fish sauce and lemon juice to taste.  This soup should have a pronounced acid flavor, so add sufficient lemon juice to achieve this.  Serve in a large tureen or in soup bowls, sprinkled with sliced chili, cilantro, and spring onions.

I'm in love with these blueberry muffins!

I have recently switched from the Yeast Connection Diet to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).  Basically, this means that I used to not be able to eat anything sweet.  Not even fruit!  However, I could eat grains as long as they were gluten-free and had no sugar or yeast.  Now, I can eat fruit and even honey, but I cannot eat any grains.  It'll be a challenge, but I'm ready for a change.  Plus, I am SO excited about eating fruit again! 

I found this recipe in the "Eat Well Feel Well" cookbook by Kendall Conrad.  These muffins turned out really well and were super tasty and moist.  The recipe calls for almond flour, but I used hazelnut flour with delicious results.  (Nut flours are just nuts ground up really finely.  There is no actual flour in this recipe.  I  buy it at Whole Foods but you can make your own nut flour by grinding your nuts of choice in a food processor.)
Try 'em!  They are high-protein, low-glyemic index, and relatively low-carb.

SCD Blueberry Almond (or hazelnut) Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups almond flour (or any other nut flour)
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter or ghee (Butter has very little lactose and ghee has none.  Alternatively, you can substitute olive oil if you like.)
1/4  cup honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit.  Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.  In a food processor, puree the almond flour, eggs, butter, honey, baking soda, vanilla, and salt until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and gently fold in the blueberries.  With a big spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve warm with butter and honey if desired.
Makes 1 dozen.

Cupcakes!
When I made these, I decided to turn them into cupcakes by making icing for them.  (...because everyone knows that cupcakes are muffins with icing, right?)  This honey icing was delicious!  I have to say though, I don't think I boiled the honey long enough because it turned out really thin.  Make sure you boil it long enough if you want a thick, spreadable icing.

Honey Frosting

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 egg white, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil the honey until a drop forms a firm ball in cold water.  Add gradually to beaten egg white.  Whip until stiff and add vanilla.  This frosting is marshmallow-like and remains spreadable for hours. 

I hope you like these as much as I did!

What I like to have for a Friday Night Splurge

I LOVE fried shrimp!  That's  one of the things I really miss about being gluten-free.  Luckily, I've found a way to fry shrimp using rice flour.  Yum!

Fried Shrimp and Tartar Sauce

The sauce:
On my diet, I can't have pre-made tartar sauce b/c of the sugar and vinegar content.  Here is a good mock.
Step 1:  Make your own mayonnaise.  (I used to think this was hard.  It's not!  It literally takes me 10 minutes to do.  Also, I thought I didn't like mayo.  I just don't like the pre-packaged kind.  Homemade tastes completely different!)  Mayonnaise starts with an egg yolk, into which you force oil, and it will hold it in creamy suspension.
a)  Heat a bowl (this is important!  The yolk won't "take" the oil if it's not heated.  I learned this from Julia Child.  Love her!)
b)  Put one egg yolk into the bowl (Save the egg white!  You'll see why later.)
c)  Beat the yolk for about a minute (I use an electric, hand-held mixer.)
d)  Add salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) and about  2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (most recipes call for a squirt of mustard at this point but I find it doesn't  need it.)
e)  Beat for another minute or so.
f)   While the mixer is still on, SLOWLY  mix in 1 cup of olive oil.  I usually spoon it in first, then pour in a small strean when it reaches the half-way point.
g)  When all the oil  in incorporated, you have mayonnaise!

Step 2:   Make the tartar.
a)  Take 1 cup of mayonnaise and put it into a separate bowl.
b)  Add one half finely chopped onion, one half finely chopped cucumber, a handful of fresh dill, one half lemon, finely chopped (skin and all!), more salt, if needed, to taste.
c)  Store in fridge for at least a half an hour before eating.


The Shrimp:
a)  Peel and clean however many shrimp you want.  (I use about 8 BIG shrimp per person.)  Make sure you cut along the vein and remove it.  This is the shrimp's poo.  You do not want to eat it!  I can't tell you how many times I've had shrimp in restaurants where they do not remove the veins.  This is a pet peeve of mine.  Yuck!
b)  Dry the shrimp, then dip each one in the egg white (remember the one from the mayo?)
c)  Then, coat the shrimp with the following mixture:

• 1/2 cup rice flour
• finely chopped garlic
• chopped fresh oregano and basil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

d)  Fry the coated shrimp in a frying pan with some olive oil (enough to liberally coat the bottom of the pan.)  When the shrimp turn cloudy, they're done.  It usually takes about 5 minutes or so per side.

Serve immediately with the tartar sauce.  Add a green salad and you have a great meal!

No-Milk Shake

I seem to be on a banana kick lately so I'll share with you another delicious, sweet alternative.  Banana No-Milk shake!  You won't believe how good this tastes.  It's just as good as any milkshake you've ever had.  The cool thing is that it's healthy enough to have for breakfast too.  (Warning:  the sugar-content is high.  It's fruit sugar, but those who are sugar-sensitive should watch portions.)

Banana No-Milk Shake
Ingredients:
1 Banana
a handful of almonds
5 or 6 dried dates
water and ice

Directions:
Blend the almonds with about a cup of water.  It will get milky-white and slightly frothy.  Then, add the banana and the dates.  Blend well.  Add ice to the desired consistency (usually about a cup).  Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Serves 1 

Even though it's really simple and there are only 3 real ingredients, it's still amazingly delicious and plenty sweet even though there is no added sugar.  Dates and bananas are crazy sweet!

Bananas Lynster (Kinda like Bananas Foster but without the bad stuff.)

I don't want to brag or anything but here is an absolutely delicious dessert that I made up.  Okay, so there's no such thing as a truly healthy dessert, but this is much healthier than most other desserts out there.  Plus, it's gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free (although it does have fruit sugar and agave syrup).  If you're going to splurge, this is the way to go! 

Bananas Lynster
Ingredients:
1 banana, sliced
sprinkle of cinnamon
finely chopped fresh ginger (about a teaspoon)
shopped pecans (a handful)
1/2 teaspoon of alcohol-free vanilla extract (I like "Spice Shoppe")
1 T sesame oil (You can use other oils, but I find the sesame fries up the bananas better and more crisply.)
coconut milk ice-cream, sweetened with agave syrup (such as "Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss")

Directions:
Sprinkle the sliced banana with the cinnamon.  Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan.  When hot, add bananas and fry until slightly crisp.  (About 10 minutes or so.)  Towards the end of the frying, add the vanilla, chopped ginger, and pecans.  Stir and cook for a few mintues.  Put the banana mixture in a bowl and top with the coconut milk ice-cream.     
Serves 1 (You can double, triple, quadruple, etc. this recipe if you want to make it for more people.)

Enjoy!  You won't miss the bad stuff!

Almond Meal Muffins

Breakfast is the hardest meal for those of us who are gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free.  I was very happy to find this recipe for some high-protein muffins.  These are quite tasty and less "brick-like" than other high-protein muffins I've tried.  I made a batch on Saturday, popped them in the freezer, and have been having them for breakfast and/or snacks this week. 

Almond Meal Muffins:

1 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup ground almonds (or walnuts)
3/4 cup whey protein powder (I used rice protein powder)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (alcohol-free preferred.  I used "Spice Shoppe" brand.)
2/3 cup grated carrot
2/3 cup soft tofu
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into muffins tins.  (The batter needed more liquid so I mixed in some soy milk when I made them.)  Bake 20-25 minutes.

High-protein, low-carb, high-fiber, and delicious!  :-) 

Quiche for Breakfast!

I have been frustrated because I have gained 5 pounds this past week.  Even though I'm still eating really healthily.  Argh!  Stupid, stupid weight gain!  I'm thinking that maybe it's because I've been eating too many carbs.  (Even though they were healthy carbs!)

I read recently that eating cereal for breakfast makes you fat.  The sugared kind especially, but also the "healthy" kind.  Apparently, most breakfast cereals have glycemic indexes that are higher than a Snickers bar.  I also read that eating eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight by helping to curb your appetite all day long.  So this week, I wanted to try eating eggs for breakfast.

Well, who has time to cook eggs in the mornings?  I don't!  So I thought that the easiest way to eat eggs for breakfast would be to make a quiche and have that throughout the week.  No prep time necessary!  I have had quiche for the past few mornings and I actually like it.

Here is the recipe I used from the Candida Control Cookbook.  I did make a change though.  I left out the nutmeg and put in some chopped, fresh dill instead.  This is a tip I got from my Greek mother-in-law.  She always puts dill in her spanikopita (which is amazing).  I have to say, Daisy knows what she's talking about.  Spinach and dill are a great combination!

Pecan Crust:
1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
1 cup ground fresh pecans (I ground them in a food processor)

Melt butter in a small skillet; remove from heat.  Add pecans; stir.  Spoon mixture into a greased, 8-inch pie dish, pressing against sides and bottom of dish to form crust.  Fill and bake or chill according to filling instructions.
(16 carbs)  

 Quiche Filling:
10 oz. package of frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
1 med. onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup homemade yogurt (the recipe calls for cottage cheese, but I am avoiding lactose so I used the homemeade yogurt.  Or you could use tofu if you  like.)
nutmeg to taste (I used chopped, fresh dill instead)
sea salt to taste

Squeeze the water out of the spinach.  Chop the onion and cook in the oil until tender.  Take off heat and add the spinach, eggs, yogurt, salt, and dill.  Mix together and pour into the pecan crust shell.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.

I suppose if you wanted to make this more breakfasty you could put in some ham or bacon, but I think it's really good without it.

Does anyone out there have any other low carb breakfast ideas?

Lemon Meringue Pie

Okay so I feel like I  have to redeem  myself after that cinnamon roll post.  Here is the final recipe from the Candida Control Cookbook that I'm going to put up this week.  Lemon Meringue Pie!  It came out great!  I have to say though, that the sweetness of this pie is different from what you're used to.  I haven't had any sugar at all for several weeks now so it tasted like heaven to me.  My sugar-eating husband was less enthusiastic.  If you can't have gluten, lactose, or sugar though this makes a pretty awesome dessert.

Lemon Meringue Pie
Yields  6 servings

Crust:
1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
1 cup ground fresh pecans (I ground them in a food processor)

Melt butter in a small skillet; remove from heat.  Add pecans; stir.  Spoon mixture into a greased, 8-inch pie dish, pressing against sides and bottom of dish to form crust.  Fill and bake or chill according to filling instructions.
(16 carbs)

Filling:
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1 cup water*
2 teaspoons alcohol-free lemon flavoring* (the recipe calls for "Bickford's" but I found another brand at Whole Foods.)
3 tablespoons 100% pure vegetable glycerine
Meringue Topping (see below)

Separate eggs.  Place yolks and arrowroot powder in to the top of a double boiler; add water and flavoring.  Using a whisk, mix over medium heat until thick.  Remove from  heat; cool.  Add glycerine; stir.  Pour into crust.  Cover with Meringue Topping.  Bake in 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes or until delicately brown.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
(7 carbs per serving) 

Meringue Topping:
2 large egg whites (I have to say, I used all 3 of the whites from the 3 yolks in the above recipe and it came out fine.)
1 tablespoon 100% pure vegetable glycerine
1/4 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla flavoring (Spice Shoppe is a good brand)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.  Beat whites until stiff.  Fold in glycerine and vanilla.  Spoon over pie filling.  Bake 10 minutes, or until browned.

* Note:  Instead of lemon flavoring and water, it seems like you could just use lemon juice instead.  I'm going to try it next time.  Why use flavoring when you can use the natural stuff?

Cinnamon Rolls

I made some gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free cinnamon rolls today from the Candida Control Cookbook today.  This recipe used rice flour so I was dubious about it considering my terrible turnover experience.  The rolls came out really crumbly.  (Actually, a better name would be "Cinnamon Crumbles".)  They did taste good even though they don't look very appetizing.  Next time, I'm going to add an egg to the dough because I think it'll hold it together more.  I thought of adding one in as I was making this but I thought, "I'm sure this recipe knows what it's talking about.  I'll do it exactly as it says".  Hmmm....well, let's just say next time I'm definitely adding an egg!
 Here is the recipe as printed in the book if you want to try it for yourself:


Cinnamon and Nut Rolls 
Yields 1 dozen rolls

1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter - the lactose containing part is skimmed off and only the fat is left)
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk (or almond milk)
1 tablespoon 100% pure vegetable glycerine (I know!)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon nut topping (see below)
1 tablespoon 100% pure vegetable glycerine
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place first 7 ingredients into a large bowl; mix with pastry blender, fork, or 2 knives.  Form dough into a ball.  Place dough on a floured board.  Roll, with a floured rolling pin, into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle.  Spread topping over dough.  Roll up lengthwise; cut into 3/4-inch slices.  Butter an 8-inch round cake pan; sprinkle remaining glycerin and cinnamon on bottom of pan.  Place rolls on top.  Bake 10-15 minutes.
(30 carbs each)


Cinnamon-Nut Topping
Yields 1 topping for 1 dozen rolls

A delicious sugar-free topping for rolls.

1/4 cup of ghee or clarified butter
1/2 cup ground fresh pecans or walnuts
1 tablespoon 100% pure vegetable glycerine
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or more, to taste

Melt butter in a small skillet.  Add nuts, glycerine, and cinnamon; mix.  Remove from heat; cool before spreading.
(8 carbs)

A Good, Lowfat Way to Cook Chicken

Years ago when I was about to get married, I was bamboozled into going to a cooking demonstration.  They made it seem like I had won a prize and I would get a free vacation just by going to the thing.  Also, they said there would be free food there.  (Silly me, I believed them.)

Anyway, I dragged a friend and my mom to this thing and it turned out to be a sales tactic for really expensive pots and pans.  We sat through the demo, got a bite of chicken, then got the hard-sell before they gave us our coupon for a free two-nights stay in any motel 6 in the country.  (Hardly a vacation!)

I did not buy any pots or pans from them.  I was mad at them for wasting my time!  The one useful thing I got from this is I learned a really good way to cook chicken breasts with no oil.

Here is the technique:
Heat up a frying pan to medium heat.  Place the chicken breasts in the pan.  (however many will fit.  I usually do 4 at a time.)  The chicken breasts will stick to the pan.  Salt the chicken and put on whatever spices you want.  (I use garlic and oregano).  Cover with a lid.  As the chicken cooks, the fat will melt which will unstick the chicken from the pan.  When you are able to lift them, turn them over.  Again, they will stick.  Cover and cook.  When they unstick, that means they are done.
They really do come out good.  Nice and juicy and not dry at all.  (I guess the lid keeps in the moisture.)

The pot and pan people told us that you could do this technique with ONLY their pots and pans.  Whatever!  I tried it at home with my own pan  and it worked great.  I like to serve this with roasted asparagus and/or creamed spinach.

Tuna-Style Salmon Salad

Since there seems to be a problem with high mercury levels in tuna these days, I like to make salad with canned salmon instead of tuna.  It makes a nice lunch, served with brown rice crackers.  Yum!


Ingredients:
1 small can of wild-caught Sockeye salmon
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 apple, chopped (I like golden delicious)
3 or 4 small vinegar-free dill pickles, chopped
(I use Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills)
a couple of dollops of either homemade yogurt or homemade mayonnaise
salt to taste

Directions:
Mix all of the above together in a bowl.  Serve on a bed of salad greens or just on a plate with some rice crackers.  (I like Edward and Sons Brown Rice Snaps - the Tamari Sesame flavor.)
Serves 2

Variation:
substitute a cup of halved, seedless red grapes for the apple
substitute a chopped stalk of celery for the pickles
add a handful of chopped walnuts
(either way is delicious)

Note: The fruit can be left out if you're avoiding sugars (like I am at the moment).

Creamed Spinach

One of a my favorite things is the creamed spinach my mom used to make when I was a kid.  Here is a lactose-free version which uses homemade yogurt instead of cream cheese.  It's super simple, but delicious!

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen, chopped spinach (preferably organic)
a few dollops of homemade yogurt
salt to taste (I use Celtic Sea Salt)

Heat the spinach in a pot with a little bit of water.  When thawed and warm, stir in the yogurt.  Salt to taste.  Serve immediately.

I like to serve this with fish or chicken as a side dish.

Make Your Own Yogurt

I used to think making yogurt was hard.  It's really not!  (...and you don't even have to buy a yogurt maker if you are creative.)  If you let the yogurt "do its thing" for at least 24 hours, the bacteria eats all of the lactose.  Therefore, homemade yogurt is the only kind of yogurt that is safe for lactose-intolerant people.  I like to have it on hand to eat with nuts as a snack, or use it to make creamed spinach.  Also, I use it as a substitute for mayonnaise or sour cream.  Here's how I do it:

1.  Heat 2 cups of milk (2% fat content or higher.  Skim milk does NOT work well.) in a sauce pan until it is just about to boil.  (You have to kill any bacteria that might be in there.  You don't want to culture the bad bacteria!)
2.  Cover, and allow it to cool to room temperature.  (Important!  If it's too hot, it will kill the bacteria in the yogurt starter.) 
3.  Stir in a heaping soup-spoonful of plain, store bought yogurt (about half of a 5.3 oz container).
I like to use Greek yogurt because you get a nicer, thicker consistency.  Oikos seems to work better for me.
4.  Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid.  Place on a heating pad, on the medium setting.  Cover with a towel and let sit for at least 24 hours.   (It needs to stay at around 100 degrees farenheit.)

Easy peasy!

You could double the recipe to make more, but I like to make it in small batches like this because it goes bad after a week.  Sunday evenings are my yogurt-making evenings.  Then, I have yogurt to use in recipes and snacks throughout the week.