Category: Desserts

For FHE on Monday night, I decided to try a different variation on our favorite homemade frozen yogurt recipe.


Delicious, and healthier than the recipe I’ve been using, this  batch contained no additional sugar.

Here’s what I threw together.

Lemon Frozen Yogurt 2 containers (32 ounces each) lemon yogurt 2 cups half and half juice of 2 lemons, or about 6 Tb. lemon juice Combine ingredients well in a mixing bowl and pour into ice cream maker.  Process according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Scoop frozen yogurt into separate container and freeze.

My family loved this yogurt, and none of them noticed that I didn’t add any sugar.  It was tart, but not sour, and very refreshing.  This yogurt would also be delicious with fresh berries of any kind, or if you wanted to sweeten it up you could serve it with graham cracker crumbs or cookies.  We just enjoyed it plain.


I’m thinking that my future plan is to try all of our favorite frozen yogurt flavors without adding any sugar.   If this recipe, the most tart of them all, tasted fine then I’m sure the others will too!  I’m happy to be able to make it just a bit healthier.  I hope you’ll try it sometime!

Hopeful Homemaker

This is a quick, yummy popcorn treat.  Salty and sweet.   A spin-off of some other recipes of mine, it was fun to fiddle with.  This is a nice variation on your typical candied popcorn.

Begin by popping 8-10 cups of plain popcorn.


In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.


Melt butter and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook at a rolling boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla.  Stir.


Spoon over popcorn and toss to coat evenly.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp. kosher salt.  Toss again.


Share and enjoy!


Hopeful Homemaker’s Cinnamon Popcorn 8-10 cups plain popcorn, popped 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. kosher salt In small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and cinnamon.  Bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Spoon over popped popcorn and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, then toss again.  Enjoy!

This week we tried a new flavor in our homemade frozen yogurt recipe.


I love this recipe because it’s so very simple.  Three ingredients:  yogurt, sugar, half and half.  The peach flavor has been a hit with everyone.  We like to make homemade frozen yogurt because it’s a little lighter than ice cream, and we love the subtle tartness that the yogurt brings.  We love the consistency of this recipe.  At around $5.00 for 3 quarts, it’s a great price too.

Here’s the quick recipe, but if you want a step-by-step click here .

2 (32 ounce) tubs of yogurt * 2 cups sugar 2 cups half & half Combine ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.  Pour into ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions (mine needs ice and rock salt).  When finished, scoop into large container and place in the freezer for a couple of hours to harden more.  Serve and enjoy!

*We have found that yogurt WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup tastes much better with this recipe.  In fact, I never buy yogurt with high fructose corn syrup in it for my family as it seems to mask the flavor of the yogurt so much and is far less healthy.  In my area the best yogurt for this recipe has been the Western Family brand yogurt, which I watch for on sale (2 for $3).


Hope you like it!

Hopeful Homemaker