The Dairy Council of Arizona is joining us today and I thought it would be fun to try my hand at yogurt cheese.  I did variations and it was fun. I started off with a big container of Fage 2%.  I like the texture better than the 0% fat, but they both work.  Wrap in a thin cotton towel and place in a colander or strainer over a bowl.  Place in the refrigerator and occasionally ring it out so more water drips out.  This is how much came out of my yogurt.  ( It should shrink to approx.  1/2 its size or less if you want it moister) When you open the towel it should look like this after many hours.Then comes the fun imaginative stuff, flavoring it.  I went sweet & savory.  I started with savory, adding some Hidden Valley ranch powder from the packet.  Start with a little mix and keep going until you get the flavor you like.  I also added peanut butter ( I used Sunflower Butter) and put it on celery sticks. I  did the sweet thing,too. I added lemon zest, a bit of lemon juice and some powdered sugar and put them between two lemon cookies and let them sit over night so they get cakey. ( For a bit of a kick I sprinkled them before serving with Pop rocks ). The other sweet I made,  I mashed some raspberry with lemon zest and a bit of powdered sugar and iced the top of the lemon wafer topping it with a raspberry.  Everything was delicious.  I also tried a fresh passion fruit, it was amazing.  Here are some other ideas I found on the web.

1 BAGEL & CREAM CHEESE: spread a bagel with plain yogurt cheese. Variation: mix in a teaspoon of jam or spreadable fruit.

2 DANISH: split an English muffin in half, toast it, and spread with sweetened yogurt cheese. Sprinkle with cinnamon and heat under broiler until bubbly.

3 PEANUT BUTTER: mix 1 tablespoon peanut butter with 1 or 2 tablespoons yogurt cheese (the yogurt cheese takes on the peanut butter flavor).

4 MAYONNAISE: mix 1 tablespoon commercial mayonnaise with 1 or 2 tablespoons yogurt cheese (the yogurt cheese takes on the mayonnaise flavor).

5 BAKED POTATO TOPPING: add sour cream flavor buds, chives and/or herb mix to yogurt cheese.

6 WHIPPED CREAM: mix 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to vanilla yogurt cheese.

7 ICE CREAM: mix 1/4 cup commercial ice cream and 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt cheese.

8 LEMON TART: place a thin cookie in the bottom of a cupcake paper; spoon in lemon yogurt cheese; top with slice of fruit. Chill.

9 CHOCOLATE MOUSSE: add 1 packet low-calorie chocolate drink mix to 1 cup yogurt cheese.

10 VANILLA FROSTING: mix 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with 1 cup vanilla yogurt cheese. Chill. Spread on cake just before serving.

11. Salsa Cream – Mix salsa with the yogurt cheese and use on a sandwich, dip or baked potato
Hope this inspired you to be more creative and get your dairy in other delicious ways.