Do you often have milk sit in your fridge until it goes bad on you? Milk is something you want to have on hand but it does have a fairly short shelf life.  If you find yourself routinely throwing out milk that has gone bad I can help with that. Today I am going to share 3 of my favorite recipes to use up milk when I have more in my fridge than we will use immediately.

Food waste is frustrating.  You pay for good food and you don’t want to see it go down the drain. You can make these yummy treats and and use up your milk at the same time.

#1. Make some Chocolate Milk

My children love chocolate milk for an after school snack. It’s filling and gives them a good protein boost.  You can buy chocolate syrup to add to your milk, but if you are concerned about the additives in the syrup, you can easily make your own.  It’s not hard at all.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1 pinch salt
4. 1 cup water
5. 1 tsp vanilla

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  (Note that while everything is cold it won’t mix very well.  Don’t worry about it.  Once it has warmed up it will mix just fine. )
• Heat until boiling.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Allow to cool and store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
• Add a couple spoonful to a glass of cold milk and enjoy.

That’s all there is too it!

 

 

 

#2 Make some cottage cheese

Did you know you can make a simple cottage cheese quickly with a few ingredients you probably have in your kitchen?

Ingredients:

1. 1 gallon milk
2. 3/4 cup vinegar
3. salt to taste
4.  a few Tbsp heavy cream, optional

You will also need a large kettle and something to strain your cheese. A strainer with small holes probably would work. A cheesecloth is best.  You can buy a reusable one and wash between each use. Another thing you will need is a thermometer as you will need to know the temperature of your milk.

• Heat your milk to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Once it is up to temperature add your vinegar, pouring in a circular motions to spread it around well.  You will notice the milk begin to separate immediately.  Give it a quick stir with a spoon, cover it, and let set for 30 mins.
• Arrange your cheesecloth in a strainer and pour the mixture in.  If you want to keep the whey you should have a dish underneath to catch it. I often just let my whey go down the drain but if you want you can save it to use in baking.
• Let your cheese drain for a bit until all the whey is gone.  How long you do this is a matter of taste.  A longer drain would make your cheese dryer.  I’m normally impatient and don’t wait very long. 🙂
• Rinse the cheese with cool water, stirring to make sure it all cools evenly.
• Move to a bowl and add salt to taste.
• An optional final step is to add some cream.  Cottage cheese you buy at the store has cream added back in which gives it a creamy texture.  Ours disappears pretty quickly the way it it, so we don’t bother with this step.

Serve with fruit, on a salad or however you like!

 

#3 Make Pudding

Pudding is made from very basic ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen already.

We went to a cabin with my family once.  I needed pudding for a dessert I was serving and I left my box mix at home.  I decided to try to make it from scratch and it actually turned out quite well.  It has a better flavor than a box mix too in my opinion.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups whole milk, divided
2. 3 Tbsp cornstarch
3. pinch of salt
4. 3/4 cup sugar
5. 3 egg yolks
6. 1 Tbsp butter
7. 1 tsp pure vanilla

• Whisk together 1/4 cup of milk with cornstarch. Set aside
• In a saucepan, whisk together the remaining milk, salt, and sugar. Heat over medium heat until steaming.  DO NOT BOIL.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl.
• Once the milk is steaming, slowly stream 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture back to the pot, followed by the cornstarch mixture.  Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to simmer and has thickened. ( The egg needed to be added slowly so it doesn’t turn into scrambled egg)
• Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.
• Pour into individual serving dishes. Top each with a layer of plastic wrap touching the top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.  Serve war or allow to chill several hours before serving.
• Add some berries or any other toppings you like.  Yum!

The next time you find milk in your fridge that you know needs to be used soon, try some of these recipes to use up your extra milk.

You can turn it into yummy treats your family will love instead of feeding it to the dog. 🙂