One pint of milk

[Rocky Road]

Hello, this may be a strange request but....

I have one pint of milk (unopened) that will expire in three days. I buy milk to cook with and I always seem to waste most of it because I hate milk. I haven't had a glass of milk, or a bowl of cereal since I was a kid. I recoil from any food thing where milk is the star or a major ingredient-- unless it's cooked. I cook with milk often, BUT it seems I never use that much and I'm always wasting milk. I'm sure most people never have this problem because they can just drink the rest or have a bowl of cereal. I just can't bring myself to do that.

Can you share any recipes where I can use a pint of milk (or darn near all of it)? Baked goods are in play as I love to bake too. Anything goes, if I can use a pint of milk without having to drink it. Much appreciated.

[ChristinaMason]

How about cream gravy on pork chops or breaded minute steaks?

[Rocky Road]

All, thanks for all of the pudding ideas. I have made many a puddins with my leftover milk. It's a good idea but one I'm already familiar with. Anything else?

[greygarious]

You can make a soft-serve textured sherbet without an ice cream maker. Use frozen fruit (fresh, canned in heavy syrup, or a mix of the two) and very cold milk. Whir in a food processor, sweetening to taste. If you incorporate some sweetened condensed milk, it will stay scoopable in your freezer. Without it, you have to eat your batch all at once, or soften and re-process the remaining portion after keeping it in the freezer.

[Cherylptw]

Pastry cream would be my choice...tons of uses: as a tart, pie or cake filling, cannoli filling, with fresh berries or sliced peaches, etc.

[Rocky Road]

I have done pastry cream many times. It's a great idea. Thanks!

[Harry Niletti]

If you like hot cocoa, make some with your milk, refrigerate, and reheat to a simmer for about five minutes every three days or so until you use it up. It can taste really good, even after an extended period, but a cinnamon stick and a shot of Kahlua helps the finished product shake any lingering fridge funk.

[weezycom]

make a bread pudding with it.

I don't drink milk, either, and have taken to buying the juice-box size shelf-stable milk to keep on hand for cooking....and still end up throwing out about 1/3 of each box.

[onceadaylily]

Second the rice pudding, or any kind of pudding, and also nominate custard (or custard pie . . . mmm). Chicken fried steak also takes a fair amount of milk, between the breading and the gravy (or sausage gravy, with homemade biscuits). And if you get your hands on a starter, you might try making your own Greek yogurt. Bechamel sauce . . . baked mac and cheese.

[miss louella]

What about a small batch of ricotta cheese?

I've only done it with larger quantities of milk -- any ideas out there on why a small batch would be a bad idea?

(I recently made one tiny pint of apricot jam and couldn't be happier, so I guess I'm on a "think small" tear.)

[ZenSojourner]

Sorry. Having trouble wrapping my head around this one. Between me and my son, we go through about a gallon of milk a day - IF I don't make chai or milk toast that day.

LOL!

Freezing will probably work fine.

[rcallner]

Jamie Oliver would do this: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/ch...

[Rocky Road]

Nice looking chicken. Sounds great, except I don't see how the milk comes in??

[goodhealthgourmet]

took me a second to figure it out too...

"Put your chicken back in the pot **with the rest of the ingredients,** and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce which is absolutely fantastic.

[mpjmph]

I have a similar relationship with milk :) My go-to recipe for using excess milk is cornstarch pudding. This recipe is from cooks.com (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1940,...

)

1 (almost heaping) tbsp. Hersheys cocoa
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. milk
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 (heaping) tbsp. flour

Stir sugar, flour and cocoa together and mix well. Add milk slowly while stirring. Continue to stir, on low heat. When pudding thickens add butter and vanilla. Serve.

[Val]

Rice Pudding is another great option...also chai tea as ZenSojourner suggests! If you need a great chai tea recipe, let me know...got one from the American Cancer Society newsletter last year...it's my go-to for homemade chai!

[goodhealthgourmet]

turn it into "soured" milk (add 2 tablespoons lemon juice for 1 pint, stir, and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes), and use as you would buttermilk in mashed potatoes, or pancakes, or chilled cucmber or beet soup...

[John E.]

You could always freeze the milk. I have successfully frozen milk and even after thawing, you could drink it straight and not be able to tell that it was frozen. If I had a pint of milk and needed to use it up I'd make sherbet. Alton Brown has a recipe for orange sherbet, just google it.

[Rocky Road]

Thanks, I love ice cream. I Googled it, but his recipe requires and ice cream maker and I don't have one. Freezing to drink is not an option as I won't drink fresh or frozen milk. I have a question tho....will milk keep longer by freezing? I never thought of that. How long can milk be kept frozen to be thawed later for cooking??

[dct]

Yes, you can freeze milk for cooking with at a later date. I do it all the time, as I, too am not a milk drinker. You may want to break it into cup size portions for using a bit at a time. Other ways I use up milk: make paneer, make hot chocolate, puddings, creme caramel, use it to cook oatmeal. On terms of how long it will keep in the freezer, it depends on your freezer. It is sensitive to picking up other odors, but if it's well sealed it should keep for months.

[John E.]

My point about freezing milk wasn't to say for you to drink it later, necessarily. The point I was trying to make is that freezing doesn't have to reduce the quality of the milk and that after thawing, it's the same as milk that has never been frozen. I've frozen milk in 1/2 gallon jugs half-full for several weeks at a time and not had a problem with it. An unopened pint of milk probably could last a couple months without a problem.