I know this is a crazy dilemma but some of you money saving mamas out there must have run into something similar. Here is how it happened to me...
I answer the phone and a friend says she has some extra milk from the soup kitchen and would I like some. I say "sure!". I get off the phone assuming I have an extra gallon of milk. In actuality she shows up with her husband behind her carrying a CASE, yes a case of milk. Six gallons of milk packed into a milk crate soon made their way to my table. I was grateful for the thought so I smiled and thanked them as they walked out the door. After they had I left I stared at my table for a while... I use almond milk, and at my house we don't drink milk we just use it in cereal for the hubby and sometimes the kids. I love free food though as our grocery budget is a tight one with 6 people. What was I going to do with 6 gallons of milk that by the expiration date were supposed to be drunk in the next few days!!
A friend just stopped by as I was writing this post. Perfect I sent her home with 2 gallons! That just leaves 4! Now if you have a large enough freezer you could just freeze them all. Some people complain that fat free milk separates a little after being frozen. You can shake the milk as it is freezing every 30 - 60 minutes to try to stop that from happening. I never have a problem with 2% or higher fat milks separating.
As far as the freezer goes though it doesn't work for me at the moment because I have been processing apples from a friends tree and have filled it with several bags of apple pie filling. So I could only cram in 2 gallons after much rearranging. With two in the freezer that leaves 2 to use up. I am thinking a creamy soup like chowder for the majority of one gallon. Since we are a family of 6 we always make a double batch of soup. The other gallon is in my crock pot making Homemade thick and creamy yogurt.
Ok it is 1% milk so it will not be as thick as the yogurt I usually make, however it will be yummy drinkable yogurt for the kids, and handy for making Ranch Dressing from Scratch (recipe here), used as buttermilk in pancakes
( I LOVE the healthy delicious Oatmeal Pancakes we make) and other baked goods. You can make a huge batch of pancakes if you have time to cook them all up and then freeze them for an easy breakfast.
I also will use some in place of half of the fat in homemade biscuits or scones .
I also use yogurt as a great addition to my smoothies (my recipe here) (my recipe here) to add some tanginess and a protein boost. Anytime you have ready to expire milk on hand it is a great idea to make yogurt because the fermentation process extends the life by at least 2 weeks or so.
Need a few other ideas to use ready to expire milk? How about making rice pudding, cooked pudding, baked oatmeal to eat and one to freeze, quiche, cream of whatever soup from scratch to use in recipes ( you can freeze it), or bread pudding like my delicious pumpkin bread pudding recipe! Making flan would be a good use as well of any extra milk. How do you use extra milk when you find it on super sale at the store or have some that needs used up soon?
I answer the phone and a friend says she has some extra milk from the soup kitchen and would I like some. I say "sure!". I get off the phone assuming I have an extra gallon of milk. In actuality she shows up with her husband behind her carrying a CASE, yes a case of milk. Six gallons of milk packed into a milk crate soon made their way to my table. I was grateful for the thought so I smiled and thanked them as they walked out the door. After they had I left I stared at my table for a while... I use almond milk, and at my house we don't drink milk we just use it in cereal for the hubby and sometimes the kids. I love free food though as our grocery budget is a tight one with 6 people. What was I going to do with 6 gallons of milk that by the expiration date were supposed to be drunk in the next few days!!
A friend just stopped by as I was writing this post. Perfect I sent her home with 2 gallons! That just leaves 4! Now if you have a large enough freezer you could just freeze them all. Some people complain that fat free milk separates a little after being frozen. You can shake the milk as it is freezing every 30 - 60 minutes to try to stop that from happening. I never have a problem with 2% or higher fat milks separating.
As far as the freezer goes though it doesn't work for me at the moment because I have been processing apples from a friends tree and have filled it with several bags of apple pie filling. So I could only cram in 2 gallons after much rearranging. With two in the freezer that leaves 2 to use up. I am thinking a creamy soup like chowder for the majority of one gallon. Since we are a family of 6 we always make a double batch of soup. The other gallon is in my crock pot making Homemade thick and creamy yogurt.
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